Eternal Prey (36 page)

“But you’re going to save them, right?” She looked back at Utah and his brothers.

Fin seemed to consider the possibility. “Perhaps I will. They didn’t deserve this. Some species have needed killing, but not this one. The carnage . . . bothers me.”

She got the feeling not much “bothered” him. “You seem a little disconnected from everything.”

“Oh, you have no idea how connected I am.” Then he turned away from her.

She understood a dismissal when she heard it. Besides, she had to find
her
Utah. Just thinking his name drove her onward. And only when she was blocks away did she realize Fin hadn’t answered all her questions.

Lia raced up and down darkened streets. The fight still raged on some of them, but most were deserted except for the stench of fire and death. Panic pressed her to run faster, to get to where Utah’s soul waited.

Soon she was out of the city and running into the total darkness again. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, could only
feel
. He was
there
. Just ahead.

Suddenly, she burst from the darkness. Utah stood bathed in a circle of light. He smiled and held his arms wide for her. With an inarticulate cry, she flung herself into them.

Was this his soul then, this light surrounded by darkness? Well, she intended to widen his little patch of soul-shine. She wrapped her arms around him and hung on tight. “I went, I saw, and it scared me witless, but I still want you, raptor.”

He felt the moment she claimed her share of his soul. It was a completion, a fulfillment he knew he’d always searched for, one he never thought to find. No matter how many lifetimes he’d lived or would live, there would never again be a joy like this.

It was over. Utah closed his eyes. He’d always thought his soul was raptor, but it had welcomed her in human form. Tonight, for
her
, he’d wanted it to be human.

When he opened his eyes, they were both standing in the clearing with Tor looking on. Lia’s expression mirrored conflicting emotions—love and joy along with a memory of horror. He pulled her closer.

Without warning, words came. Words he hadn’t thought but knew he had to say. “You touch my soul, Lia. You touch what I am, what I once was, and what I will be.”

“I accept what you share with me tonight—your love, your soul. I give my love and my soul in return.” Tears shone in her eyes.

He touched her lips with his. “Take what is mine, and let it join us forever.”

Silence hung between them until Lia finally spoke. “Those words were beautiful and fitting, but they weren’t my words. Where did they come from?”

Utah shook his head. “I don’t know, but Ty and Jenna said the same words. I was there.”

She smiled up at him. “It doesn’t matter. They were the right words.”

The night should end with those words. They’d triumphed over evil and found love.
Leave it. Ask her tomorrow.
But he couldn’t. He had to know now. “Something in my past scared you.” He took a deep breath. “Tell me.”

“Wait.”

Tor’s voice startled Utah. He’d almost forgotten his brother was there.

“Congratulations, and I love you guys, but I’m outta here.” Tor’s smile looked strained. “I choose not to know.
This
is my time. I don’t want a past to haunt me that I can’t even remember. Sorry. I’ll wait for you back in the other clearing.” He turned and walked away.

Maybe Tor was right. With Zero and the rest of his immortals still out there, Utah had enough complications in his life. He thought about it for all of two seconds. “Tell me.”

Lia met his gaze. “I think Zero and the others destroyed your civilization—the one
before
the dinosaurs—the same way they’re trying to destroy ours. I ended up in a really strange-looking city. It was burning and its people dying.” She seemed to be thinking about what to say next. “I saw you . . . and your family.” She hesitated.

His heart clenched. “Go on.”

“You were kneeling by a dead woman. Your wife. She was pregnant.”

Dead. Wife. Pregnant. The words pounded at him, hammer-slams to his gut, his heart. All he could do was nod.

“There were other bodies scattered around you. Two men—I guess they were Rap and Tor—were still alive. One of them looked at the bodies. The dead were your parents, your grandparents, and your sisters.”

He fought to slow his racing heart, to calm his breathing, to keep his emotions under control. “Did you see anyone else?”

“Fin was watching you.”

Utah wasn’t surprised.

“He said the immortals were responsible for what was happening to your world.”

History repeating itself. But this time they were taking it to the bastards. Fierce joy filled him. “Fin say anything else?”

Lia shrugged. “Just that he and I were visitors there. Guess that proves he wasn’t one of you guys. Oh, and he explained the whole end-of-time-period thing that we already knew.”

Who was Fin, and why didn’t he want to talk about his past? But those were thoughts for another day. Right now, only Lia mattered.

“You okay with all this?” She looked worried.

He wasn’t used to anyone worrying about him. He liked the feeling.

“Yeah, I think I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always wonder about the woman who was my wife, and I’ll mourn our unborn child. But that was a long time ago.” He hugged her tighter and buried his face in her windswept curls. At least he now understood his obsession with avenging Rap along with his flashes of memory. Subconsciously, he’d known. Family was precious. “I love
you.
In
this
time, in
this
place.”

She moved back, and he let her go. “You’ve lost too many family members. We’re going to do something about it.”

He could tell her that when she got a militant gleam in her eyes she was beautiful, but she wouldn’t appreciate it. She’d rather think that her determined expression cowed anyone who got in her way. So he’d keep his thoughts to himself. “What’s your plan?”

“Come with me.” She strode back to where the others were.

Only they weren’t there anymore. Tor sat on the ground with his back against a tree, waiting as he’d promised. Fin stood alone in the middle of the clearing. He was almost swaying on his feet. What the hell had he done to himself when he fought Zero?

Lia’s gasp pulled Utah’s attention away from his leader. He followed her gaze to what lay behind Fin. Then he looked back at Fin. “Why’d you kill Adam?”

“He needed killing. He intended to find Zero or one of the others and offer them the same deal he offered Seven.”

“How do you know that?” Lia shifted her gaze from the dead Adam to Fin.

“His thoughts on the subject were clear.”

“Do you stay out of
anyone’s
mind?” Lia seemed more outraged over Fin’s mental breaking-and-entering than about Adam’s death.

“Not if they have something I want.” Fin’s was the voice of cold reason. Emotion would never warm it.

“Won’t that make a martyr of him?” Utah’s beast thought Fin’s solution made perfect sense. The human part of Utah thought that Fin might’ve found a less drastic solution, like wiping out Adam’s memory of ever meeting Seven.

“Not if a better qualified leader takes charge. Jude comes to mind.” Fin’s gaze sharpened as he studied them. “You’ve gone through the ceremony.”

“Lia is my mate.” He met Fin’s stare, daring him to disapprove.

“And you’re going to give us a wedding gift, Fin.” Lia ignored Utah’s raised brows. “You’re going to restore Rap to his brothers.”

Fin didn’t look shocked, but Utah knew that Tor and he did. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tor stand.

Utah rolled the idea around in his mind. Even a chance at getting Rap back excited him.

Lia spoke before Fin could think of a reason that he couldn’t make it happen. “You need a body. There’s one right behind you. It’s in great shape. I don’t know how you killed him, but I don’t see any obvious wounds.” She hurried on. “Adam had skills that Rap could use to help the Eleven. He could see the short-term future, and he had thousands of years’ worth of knowledge about vampires.”

“Tempting.” But then Fin shook his head. “I don’t have the power. Zero drained me. And even if he hadn’t done a job on me, I couldn’t afford to use the power it would take to put Rap in a new body. I have to stay at full strength in case I need to yank someone’s ass out of the fire.”

Sometimes Utah hated Fin’s cold logic. And yeah, he’d had to save the Eleven a few times.

Lia went into negotiating mode. “Think of the possibilities, Fin. Rap could control the vampires, and no one would know it wasn’t Adam except for us. You need the vampires.”

Fin didn’t immediately reject the idea.

“We can feed you power. We did it with Kione, we can do it now. I want my brother back.” Utah realized that this could really happen, and he fought for Rap like he fought for everything—aggressively and with a threat of violence. “Make it happen.”

Fin tensed. Purple flooded his narrowed eyes.

“Hey, I hear that you gave Ty and Al gifts to celebrate their weddings. Rap would be the ultimate gift. Think about it. Utah would owe you. Bet he’d never disobey an order again.”

Lia was trying to sound cheery and oblivious to the danger, but Utah felt her fear. He never wanted her to be afraid of or for him, so he forced back his need to challenge Fin, tried to think logically. He wouldn’t do Rap much good if he was dead.

“Never disobey an order again? When he’s dead, maybe.” Fin still sounded pissed, but some of his tension seemed to recede. He turned to glance at Adam’s body. “I don’t know. I don’t want to bring him halfway here and then strand his soul where I can’t find it.”

“I’ll help.” Tor walked to stand beside Utah.

Fin just nodded. He knelt beside Adam. They all did the same. Utah clasped Fin’s and Lia’s hands. Tor took Lia’s other hand. Then they waited.

Fin stretched his free hand over Adam, palm up. He closed his eyes.

Utah thought the sensation would be the same as he’d felt when they took Kione’s pain. It wasn’t.

It was worse. It felt as though everything inside him was liquefying and then oozing out through his pores. He broke into a cold sweat. Nausea made him close his eyes and concentrate on not humiliating himself.

Beside him, he heard Lia’s small whimper.

To hell with his promise not to go all protective on her. She was his mate, and she was suffering. He visualized a steel door closing between them. Then he sealed that door so tight that nothing could get through it, not even the liquid fire that was now a river of agony racing through his veins. He tightened his grip on Fin’s hand and opened himself to more and more and more . . .

Lia punched him. Hard. He grunted his surprise.

“Don’t you dare do that. We share everything—love, happiness,
pain.
Don’t cheat me out of any of it.”

“She’s damn right.” Tor growled his agreement. “You cut her off, and you cut me off with her. She’s pack now. We bring Rap back together or not at all.”

Utah said nothing, just swung the door open. Then he concentrated on getting through this without screaming.

Suddenly, a small ball of light appeared in Fin’s palm. Lia gripped his hand harder as Fin lowered the light to Adam’s eyes. The light disappeared.

Still on their knees, they waited.

Dread pulled at Utah. Finally, when he felt he couldn’t stand it another minute, Adam blinked.

He looked at each of them in turn, and then Adam smiled. “Jeez, I never thought I’d see your ugly mugs again.” His gaze stopped at Lia. “Except for you. You’re not ugly, and I don’t know you.” His grin widened. “But I’d like to.”

Lia returned his grin. “I’m Utah’s mate. Welcome home, Rap.”

Rap.
He was back. The realization sucked all the breath from Utah’s lungs. Tor jumped to his feet, dragged Rap after him, and then pulled him into a bear hug.

Utah and Lia rose to their feet more slowly. He felt a little wobbly as he wrapped his arms around his brother. He should be saying something emotional, but instead, he put all his feelings into the hug.

Rap punched his shoulder, but Utah didn’t miss the wet sheen in his eyes. “Wow, a mate. I go away for a little while and look what happens.” Then he hugged Lia. “You take care of him.”

Lia wrapped her arm around Utah’s waist. “We’ll take care of each other.”

Rap grinned. Then he frowned. “I’m not in the same body. What do I look like?”

Lia studied him. “You’ve got dark hair, gold eyes, and a perfect face. Women will love you.”

Rap looked relieved. “Good. Women are important.”

Tor dragged Rap toward the trail leading down from the volcano. “Let’s head back to Fin’s condo. I’ll catch you up on the way there. We have things to celebrate tonight.”

Utah watched them walk away, then looked over at Fin. He was gazing up at the night sky. What did Fin see in that sky? Was he thinking about Seven? Because Utah figured there was history between those two.