Found (22 page)

Nadiah stopped with the spoon halfway to her
mouth. “But isn’t a monkey a small chattering Earth creature that
lives in trees?” she asked faintly. “Are…are you telling me I’m
eating chunks of its flesh?”

“Ugh.” Sophia shivered. “What a thought! The
poor monkeys!”

Nadiah felt ill. “Is that why this stuff is
called ‘I scream?’ Because the animal screams when they make it
into dessert?”

“No, no, no.” Olivia put a hand on her arm.
“It’s called
ice cream—
you know, cream that’s been chilled
until it’s icy? And there are no actual monkey chunks in it, I
promise. It’s just called that because it’s banana flavored and
monkeys love bananas and…” She shook her head. “Oh, never mind.
Just eat it.”

The twins’ best friend Kat, snickered. “Good
thing we didn’t get any ‘Chubby Hubby.’”

“You!” Olivia reached across the couch they
were all sitting on to slap at Kat playfully.

Nadia frowned. “Chubby Hubby? You have ice
cream that tastes like a plump male life-mate?”

Kat laughed until she almost choked and
Sophie shook her head. “Kat’s just teasing you, Nadiah. And anyway,
whatever you think of it, you have to admit this stuff is better
than that
fleeta
pudding you guys eat on Tranq Prime.”

“I’d have to agree with you there.” Nadiah
nodded. “I mean, I know it’s our planet’s national dish and
everything but I’ve always hated it.”

“Imagine that,” Kat said dryly. “Not wanting
to eat pudding made of bug guts.”

“Kat, please!” Olivia, who had been queasier
than ever lately, put a hand over her mouth. “Oh God…just the idea!
I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Sorry!” Kat jumped up and ran around the
couch to her friend. “Come on, let’s go in the kitchen and I’ll get
you something fizzy to drink. How about some nice ginger ale?”

“Maybe,” Olivia said faintly. She allowed her
friend to help her up and they both went into the large food prep
area, leaving Sophia and Nadiah to finish the ice cream.

Nadiah reached for another bite…and then put
down her spoon with a sigh.

“Nadiah, are you all right?” Sophia put down
her spoon as well and scooted closer.

“Of course I am.” Nadiah tried to smile. “I
feel fine—why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, it’s just that you seem kind of down
since the wedding—I mean the joining ceremony, you know.” Sophia
put a hand on her arm. “I know how excited you were to do the luck
kiss with a real Kindred warrior. I’m really sorry things got so
screwed up.”

Remembering the luck kiss she’d preformed
with the human detective made Nadiah’s cheeks get hot. “That’s all
right,” she murmured, looking down at her hands. “It wasn’t so
bad.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t
been such a jerk, afterwards.” Sophia sighed. “I don’t know what
his problem was.”

Nadiah shrugged. “He didn’t approve of my
gift. Grandmamam told me there would be people like him when I came
into my power. People hate and fear what they don’t
understand.”

“Well, he’s not your type, anyway.” Sophia
grinned. “But I know plenty of guys who
are
and a bunch of
them are on board. What you need to do is go out to some of the
on-board clubs the Blood Kindred hang out in. Sylvan and I can take
you to one—that way he can make sure you get a good one.”

Nadiah rolled her eyes. “You mean a male he
approves of.”

“Well, you
are
his baby cousin,”
Sophia said. “Which means he feels the need to look out for you.
That’s how Kindred are, you know—extremely protective of the ones
they love. You’ll have to get used to that if you end up mated to
one.” She grabbed Nadiah’s hand and squeezed it. “So what do you
say? Want to go out tonight and paint the Mother ship red?”

Nadiah wasn’t sure what changing the color of
the ship they were on had to do with having a good time, but
regardless, she just didn’t feel like it. “I’m sorry, Sophie.” She
shook her head regretfully. “But I don’t want to go out. I think
I’d rather stay in my room if you don’t mind.”

A frown creased Sophia’s forehead. “Yes, I
do
mind! I don’t like the idea of you sitting alone in your
room by yourself doing nothing. What’s wrong with you, Nadiah?” Her
voice dropped a little and worry filled her clear green eyes.
“You’ve changed since the last time I saw you. Back on Tranq Prime
you were so bubbly and carefree. And now, well…you’re so quiet and
reserved. You seem like…I don’t know, like you have a weight
pressing down on you or something.”

“It’s the Sight.” Nadiah sighed. “It’s been
weighing on me ever since I came aboard the Mother ship.”

“Do you mean the…the vision you had after the
wedding?” Sophia asked hesitantly.

“The
al’lei,
yes.” Nadiah nodded.
“That’s part of it. But I’ve been having dreams too and they don’t
feel like normal dreams.”

Sophia’s eyes widened. “You mean like more
waking dreams? More visions?”

Nadiah shook her head. “No, these come after
I go to sleep. And they don’t feel like visions of things that are
happening right when I dream them. It’s more like they’re
warnings…portents of things to come.”

“So…the dreams are showing you the
future?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Nadiah sighed.
“But I don’t know what they’re trying to tell me.”

“Are they about Lauren again?” Kat asked,
coming back. “Sorry,” she added, as she and Olivia settled back
down on the couch. “We couldn’t help overhearing. So
are
you
dreaming about Lauren?”

“I don’t know if it’s her or not,” Nadiah
admitted, frowning. “It certainly
looks
like her. I keep
seeing a girl with light brown skin and black hair but I can’t see
her face. All I know is that I get the feeling she’s in terrible
danger…and then she’s gone.”

Kat frowned. “Well, I have to tell you, I
think
Lauren is all right. Deep and Lock and I kind of, uh,
checked up on her the other night. From what we could tell, she
had
been in danger but was safe—at least she was when we
checked.”

Olivia let out a long, low whistle. “You guys
were able to see all the way out to where Lauren is? I thought you
told me that the further the distance, the harder it was to find
the person you were looking for?”

Kat’s cheeks grew red. “We, uh, found a way.
And anyway, she seemed just fine.” She looked at Nadiah. “Could
your dreams be wrong?”

“It’s not usual for the Sight to be
incorrect.” Nadiah frowned. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised if I
was misinterpreting it. Maybe I’m just anxious for her because of
the
al’lei
I experienced. But the dream is so
strange.”

“What’s strange besides there being a girl
who looks like Lauren who might be in trouble?” Sophia wanted to
know.

“It’s the location.” Nadiah looked down at
her hands. “She’s standing beside a couple of…of giants. They’re so
big she doesn’t even come up to their knees and they’re kissing
each other. Not moving at all—just standing there frozen in a kiss
that goes on and on and on. I know that sounds bizarre…”

“Um, it really does, hon.” Olivia reached out
to pat her arm kindly. “Maybe it was just a bad dream after all and
nothing to do with your gift.”

“Maybe.” Nadiah sighed unhappily. “But I
think I won’t be free of this burden until your kin is safely home
on Earth again.”

“Let’s hope that’s soon,” Kat said seriously.
“Lauren made a big impression on me in the short time I knew her. I
hope Xairn brings her home safely.”

“I do too.” Sophia sighed. “I really want to
meet her.”

“Me too!” Olivia put in. “To think that for
so long after Mom and Dad died we thought we didn’t have any other
family! I can’t
wait
to have a reunion as soon as she comes
back.”

“If we don’t hear from her soon I’ll get the
guys to do another recon mission with me,” Kat promised. “We can
keep checking on her until—” She stopped abruptly, a look of
intense concentration on her face.

“Until what?” Olivia asked, frowning.

Kat looked up, her eyes shining. “Guys,
you’re not going to believe it but Lauren is home—I mean, she’s
back on Earth. Deep just bespoke me. He’s in the viewing room right
now talking to Lauren and her mom and Detective Rast.”

“Seriously?” Sophia jumped up at once. “Tell
them to hold on—we’ll be right there!”

Kat and Olivia were already off the couch
too, looking excited. Nadiah stayed where she was.

“Hey, aren’t you going to come?” Sophia
looked back at her expectantly. “Come on—you’ll get to meet her in
person. Or on the viewscreen, anyway, but you know what I
mean.”

“I don’t know,” Nadiah said uncomfortably.
“Maybe…maybe I should just stay here. Didn’t Kat say that the human
detective was with them?”

“Who, Rast?” Olivia made a face. “Look, I
know what happened with him and the luck kiss was awkward, Nadiah,
but don’t let that bother you. Just ignore him and concentrate on
Lauren. Come on, we’re all dying to meet her but we want you with
us.”

“Yes, come on.” Sophia and Kat both took one
of her hands. Together they tugged her to her feet. “You’re one of
the group now,” Kat told her, grinning. “So you have to come
with.”

Nadiah sighed. “Well, all right. But I
really
don’t want to see him again.”

“Then pretend that you don’t,” Olivia said.
“Don’t let him pee in your Cheerios, Nadiah. Repeat after me, ‘I am
too good for Detective Rast.’”

Nadiah laughed. “I am too good for Detective
Rast.”

“Good.” Olivia nodded approvingly. “Now just
keep that in mind.”

“Come on.” Sophia tugged at her arm
impatiently. “I
have
to see her!”

“Coming.” Despite her misgivings, Nadiah
allowed herself to be led out of the suite and down the hall toward
the viewing room.
I am too good for Detective Rast,
she
repeated to herself.
And I don’t care a bit about seeing him
again. He’s not even Kindred!

But if she didn’t care about seeing him, why
was her heart pounding so hard and why did her palms feel
clammy?

It was rather overwhelming to see so many
eager faces crowding around the viewscreen at once, but it gave
Lauren a warm feeling in the center of her chest, just the
same.

There were her cousins, Olivia and Sophia and
their friend Kat, who she’d already met on the Scourge home world.
There was also a slender blonde girl with exotic looking eyes who
introduced herself as Nadiah. Apparently she was Sophia’s
cousin-in-law or something like that. She seemed nice enough but
Lauren couldn’t help noticing that Detective Rast, who her mother
had hired to help find her, started looking tense the minute she
came into sight on the viewscreen.

“So you’re really okay?” Kat asked anxiously,
leaning in toward the viewscreen. “We were so worried about
you!”

“You shouldn’t have been.” Lauren smiled at
her warmly. “You knew I had Xairn taking care of me, right?”

“We figured he would.” Kat nodded. “I was a
little worried about him being a, you know, a Scourge, but Deep and
Lock were sure he was one of the good guys. Um…” She peered from
Lauren to her mom to the detective. “Where is he, by the way?”

Lauren bit her lip, not wanting to say too
much. “He’s someplace safe.”

“If you’re worried that the Kindred will
object to his presence, don’t be.” Deep, one of the Kindred
warriors Lauren had met on the Scourge home world, came into view.
“If he treated you honorably and brought you safely home, we have
no quarrel with him.”

“Thank you.” Lauren felt a rush of relief. It
had been nerve wracking when they were flying through the
protective net the Kindred had placed around Earth. Because Xairn
was flying a Kindred ship, they were able to get through, but
Lauren had been sure they would be captured if they weren’t
careful.

“You are welcome,” Deep said gravely. “And
please communicate to him that we are here to help him, should the
need arise.”

“Okay.” Lauren smiled and nodded. “I don’t
know what help he might need but I’ll tell him you said so.”

“Thank you.” Deep nodded and put an arm
around Kat. “My brother and my mate and I are very happy to see you
safely home on Earth.”

“Mate?” Lauren looked at Kat questioningly.
“But I thought you said…”

“Things changed.” Kat looked up at her man
affectionately. “Deep and Lock and I are together now. We haven’t
had a joining ceremony yet but it won’t be long.” She brightened.
“Hey, maybe you and Xairn can do the luck kiss!”

“Luck kiss?” Lauren frowned. “What’s
that?”

The slim blonde girl, Nadiah, spoke up for
the first time. “It’s a kiss at the end of the joining ceremony
performed by the best man and maid of honor. The intensity and
passion displayed during the luck kiss is supposed to be directly
related to how lucky the new couple will be in their future lives
together.” As she spoke, she looked directly at Detective Rast who
turned red and began to cough.

“Oh, well…” Lauren smiled. “That sounds nice.
Just let me know when the ceremony is—I’d love to be part of
it.”

“We’ll let you know as soon as we plan it,”
Kat promised.

“But you shouldn’t wait until then to come up
and see us!” Sophia protested. “Liv and I are
dying
to meet
you.”

“Sophie’s right,” Olivia chimed in. “We
didn’t even know we
had
a cousin—or an aunt for that
matter—until Aunt Abby called us after you went missing.”

Lauren couldn’t help smiling at their eager
faces. “I want to meet you guys in person too. I’ve
always
wished I had more relatives. But, well, I’ve been through kind of a
lot in the past month or so and I feel like I need to get my life
back on track before I do anything else. I mean, my store has been
standing empty and my apartment is full of dust. There’s nothing
edible in the entire fridge—you know what I mean.”
Not to
mention the fact that I have a very restless Scourge warrior pacing
around my postage stamp sized condo.
She still wasn’t quite
sure how she was going to fit Xairn into her life—she only knew she
couldn’t do without him.