Daughter of Destiny (14 page)

Katarina opened her mouth
to ask him to explain, but he vanished. She cursed out loud. "Get
back here." Nothing happened. "You arrogant, cryptic, bastard, get
your butt back here and explain!" Her tirade went unanswered. The
faerie's illusion vanished with him and her actions caught the
attention of the people near her. She glared at them and they
looked away.

"Katarina? What's
wrong?"

She waved at Zane, pasting
a smile on her face and burying her unease where he couldn't see
it.
"Nothing. It was just an annoying vendor. I chased him
off."

"I'm coming in."

"No, don't cut your swim
short. The problem vanished, poof. Enjoy yourself. You'll be cooped
up in a ship for the next few weeks."

Zane didn't answer right
away. Her reminder that his time on Earth was at an end hung heavy
between them.
"I'll swim for another few minutes. Then we can go
get something to eat."

She clamped down on a surge
of nausea at the thought of food and summoned up a memory of
sitting beside him, content and happy. She broadcasted that feeling
to him, hoping to put him at ease. Katarina lay down on her beach
towel, baking in the sun, and wished her body had waited a couple
more days before turning traitor.

***

Her subdued mood lasted the
rest of the day. It took all her effort to hide her morning
sickness. She didn't bother bemoaning her lapse of common sense. It
was rather late for that. Instead, she focused on keeping the
knowledge hidden deep within her mind because Zane was a man of
duty. She would not trap him into betraying his oaths and the laws
he worked to uphold. She couldn't live with another loved one
growing to hate her. She knew he feared his government might
somehow find out about her and hunt her down, but she highly
doubted they'd travel all the way to a technologically backwater
planet to kill off a single woman. More likely, they'd kill Zane,
and that worried her far more, which was yet another reason he had
to complete his mission as planned.

They found a motel with
vacancies near the shuttle station. The nicer places were booked up
due to some conference. Katarina grimaced at the poorly lit parking
lot and the graffiti on every available surface. She hoped the room
was at least passable. She craved a good night's sleep more than
anything. As she pulled into the parking lot, she glanced to the
left at the void of darkness. A dead zone, one of thousands around
the world, butted against the street perpendicular to the main
street. Havens for criminals, and indigents, they were sections of
cities run down and poverty stricken before the pandemics. Most of
the original occupants died during one of the pandemics and to save
money, the cities shut off power and services to those sections.
Some areas were reclaimed through demolition, but it would take
time to reclaim them all. Up to now, Katarina showed Zane the best
parts of humanity, knowing full well Coran's data would show all of
the rest. A reflection of the darker side loomed right outside the
car window.

He followed the direction
of her gaze and commented, "Reminds me of where I grew
up."

She turned and looked at
him with a frown. "Really?"

"Yes, but mine was far more
populated. What's out there is nothing compared to horrors that
lurked the back alleys of Trusca. I hope you'll look at my memories
after I'm gone. I understand your fears more than you think I do,
Katarina."

She considered his remark
and pulled the rental into a parking space under a flickering
yellow light.

"I'll check us in." Zane
got out of the car and disappeared around the corner.

She shut off the engine and
breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, fighting
back yet another wave of nausea. Longing for the comfort of a bed,
no matter how old and springy, Katarina got out of the car. With
the remote, she popped the trunk to retrieve their bags. In her
state of fatigue and distraction, she didn’t notice the figure
lurking in the shadows. Before she could even let out a yelp, a
hand yanked her back by her hair and a knifepoint pricked her
throat.

"Don’t make a sound,
bitch!" A gruff whisper said in her ear. He dug the knife in a
fraction to emphasize his command. She stumbled in his wake as he
dragged her into the shadows and then down a filthy dark
alley.

She swallowed to fight back
the bile that rose in her throat. She tripped in the dark as her
attacker maneuvered her around piles of refuse. When she reached
out telepathically to him, the first tendrils of fear crept into
her. Fueled by drugs, his thoughts careened in his head, chaotic,
unfocused, yet single minded in purpose. He stopped and took a
moment to thrust his hard penis against her, bringing on a horrible
sense of déjà vu.

A whimper escaped when he
slammed her against a brick wall with enough force to knock the
breath from her. Her first instinct was to call Zane, but other
figures came out of hiding to join the fun. She pictured one man
against these monsters, the man she loved, and every protective
instinct she possessed kicked in. Her mind flashed to the alley
behind the library years ago.
They picked the wrong woman to
mess with.
Katarina slammed up walls to hide her emotions and
waited for her attackers to close in. She didn't know how many she
could take down, but they needed to be within sight at
least.

The dim light prevented her
from seeing much more than their silhouettes. A faceless black blur
laughed and the sound chilled her blood. "You picked a nice piece
of pussy there. Now, if you want to roll with us, you’ll fuck her.
We’ll all have a go at her when you’re done." A hand clamped on her
left arm and spun her around. The knife point found its home
against her throat as her head cracked against the brick wall hard
enough to make her see stars. The sound of his zipper snapped her
back and quelled her rising panic. She wasn't a frightened,
panicked teen, operating on instinct and emotion. She closed her
eyes and ignored the cold steel at her throat and the man’s painful
pawing as he fumbled to undo her pants. Before she could summon the
power she knew dwelt within her, a sickening snap echoed in the
alley and the man’s body no longer pinned hers. She opened her
eyes. Her attacker lay on the ground a few feet away from her, his
neck broken. Shouts and curses erupted as the gang swelled out of
the shadows.

She caught sight of Zane
and couldn’t take her eyes away from him. His fury roared through
her and then was replaced with lethal, cold, battle calm. Katarina
stood in awe at the beauty and power of his fighting skills. Zane
eliminated the first three attackers with quick efficient movements
that sent each to the ground mortally wounded. The remaining foes
approached en masse. A chill settled over Katarina's heart. Even
with his skills, he was one against a dozen, at least.

The glint of light off of
metal caught her attention. One of the thugs held a gun. He cocked
the hammer in preparation of firing. The mysterious faerie’s
warning came back to her. Fear for Zane’s life overrode her
apprehension of the powers inside of her. She let the energy well
from within and flood her body. She flung her hands out at the men
not engaged with Zane. She visualized an invisible force slamming
into them. They rose into the air and flew more than five feet back
into a chain link fence blocking the other end of the alley. They
collided, bending the metal where each man hit. Another man tried
to rush her and she sent a streak of blinding blue energy at him.
He collapsed where he stood. Zane dispatched the last of the
attackers with a lethal kick to the man’s head that snapped his
neck. He went to the men she disabled, his intent to kill them
clear in every purpose filled step.

"Zane, no."

He ignored her and prepared
to deliver a killing blow to the first man. Katarina rushed to his
side. Her hand on his arm stopped him. "I said no."

"They aren’t worth your
mercy, Katarina."

"Maybe not, but I won’t
have you kill in cold blood. These men are unconscious. They aren’t
a threat anymore."

Murderous fury burned in
Zane’s eyes. "They would have hurt you."

"Look at me,
Zane."

Slowly he turned and his
eyes met hers. "You're not a cold-blooded killer."

"Aren’t I?"

"No. You’re a good man,
Zane Gratig."

Zane pulled her close.
"Katarina."

"I’m okay," she said in
answer to his unspoken question. His arms trembled in counterpoint
to her quaking shudders.

"We should probably call
the authorities."

She glanced at the dead
bodies. "Normally I would agree, but I don't think you need that
kind of official interest. In this part of town, thugs turn up dead
all the time. We can put in an anonymous call when we
leave.”

Without warning Zane swept
her up into his arms. Cradling her against him, he carried her out
of the alley and toward their rented room. He never set her down,
even as he fumbled with the electronic palm reader to open the
door. Once inside, Zane kicked the door shut behind him and laid
her on the bed. Holding her to him, he planted kisses all over her
face and neck. He smoothed her hair and laid his hand on her cheek.
"You're sure you are all right?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming
to my rescue. I’m glad you did, but even if you hadn’t I could have
taken care of them myself."

"You blocked me! I felt
your fear and then nothing. Do you know what went through my mind?"
Zane’s voice rose to a yell. He held her by the arms, shaking her
as if to bring her to her senses. "What were you
thinking?"

"Stop!" She flung her hand
outwards as she willed him away. He flew off the bed and landed
with a thump on the floor. She leaped from the bed and shouted,
"You want to see what I would have done to them?" Emotions rode her
hard, urging her to demonstrate her power. She knew she could
control the amount now, but as he stared in wide eyed shock at her
from the floor, her anger melted away, leaving only the pit of
grief. This was not what she wanted for the last days of their time
together. She lowered her hand and counted her breaths until she
could speak without her voice trembling.

"Damn you, Zane. Don’t you
get it? You’ll be gone in two days. It doesn’t matter how much I
want to, I can’t lean on you."

The pained and haunted look
he gave her squeezed her heart. "You've never told me aloud that
you love me."

Katarina looked away. The
words stuck in her throat.
"You know what I
feel."

"It isn't the
same."

Katarina shook her head. "I
can't." She raced into the bathroom, the only refuge
available.

***

Zane lowered his head into
his hands. Her silence cut deep. Yes, he knew she loved him. She
wrapped him in her love every waking moment, but he needed to hear
the words. She still refused to wholly trust him and her actions
proved her point. Her fear of betrayal went as deep as his need for
her.
What the fuck am I going to do?
If things were
different, he could wait her out. She loved him too much hold on to
her fears and doubts forever.

The sound of retching came
from the bathroom. Zane bolted up from the floor and went in
without knocking. He gathered up her hair and held her steady as
she vomited into the toilet. When she was done, he took a
washcloth, wet it with cool water, and wiped her face as she sat on
the edge of the bathtub. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Can I get you
anything?"

"Would you mind terribly
getting me a soda?"

Zane kissed her forehead.
"Not at all, I'll be back in a few minutes."

He left her in the
bathroom, and jogged over to the motel office where a vending
machine stood. Empaths suffered all sorts of physical responses to
violence, and witnessing it firsthand pushed the argument aside for
the moment. The machine spit out a cold green plastic bottle. He
turned it over in his hand and tried to sort out in his mind the
mess he'd made.

He jogged to the alley and
took a quick look. Blood spattered the concrete and a trail led out
of the alley, but the bodies were gone. It didn't really surprise
him. The gangs on his own childhood streets more often than not
recovered the bodies of comrades as well. They possessed their own
distorted code of honor.

He walked back to the room,
scanning the parking lot and beyond, but no one lurked within his
range. He raised his hand to the palm reader and the sound of
Katarina's voice traveled through the thin door.

"I'm barely keeping it
together, Naia."

Zane lowered his hand and
listened through the door.

"No, I haven't told him.
Fair? Naia, honor and duty run in the man's veins. If I tell him
I'm pregnant it's as good as forcing him to stay. I can't do that.
In time he'd resent me. I can live with him leaving. I can't live
with him hating me."

Shock stole Zane's breath.
Pregnant?
The vague shift in her energy made sense now and
he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.