Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 (26 page)

The guard who had his hand in the void shouted in panic, pulling it back. The solidifying rock tore the flesh from his fingertips, much as the closing portal had injured Meelo’s face and arm. An anguished cry poured from the guard. Pushing the man aside, Vakar stared at the rock, then lifted a device in his hand, similar to the one Nikoli had designed. Sweeping his hand over it, he next pointed it at the cave wall. The rock shimmered, then turned transparent once more.

No.

Lukan pushed against Arez to get her to move back, away from the men. Understanding his intent, she shouted, “I won’t leave you.”

Her voice rang in his mind. She held tight, pulling him with her. “I love you,” she cried. “No matter what happens, I will always love you. They can’t take that from us.”

“Go,” Vakar ordered.

The guards stepped through the portal into the void. Their hair blew away from their faces in the constant wind. They recoiled from the intense cold and light.

“Fire,” Vakar commanded from the other side. “I want them taken alive.”

Two of the guards lowered their crossbows, while the others lifted their weapons.

With what little strength remained, Lukan turned his body into Arez, shielding her. She fought him, but he held tight, murmuring, “You are my life. You gave me hope.”

The guards fired.

Lukan watched the darts burst from their guns, then travel through the void in what seemed to be slow motion. Their needlelike tips glittered in the harsh light. A clear fluid beaded at the points, then sprayed back as the darts moved forward.

Closer, closer they came at an improbable speed.

Why were they moving so slowly?

At last, they hovered just inches from him and Arez. Past them, Lukan saw the guards. They were no more than tiny figures in the distance. How was that possible?

And then he knew.

Something was pulling him and Arez back, sucking them through the void.

The darts hung suspended for a moment more, then dropped. Moments later, the guards disappeared from view. Lukan heard their shouts in his mind, along with Arez’s gasp.

Whatever was pulling them increased in speed, the friction tearing at their hair, clothing and skin until Lukan sensed they were nothing more than a blur. Within the solid light, he saw dim patches of dark, also blurred. Were they entries into E3, E2 or E1?

Were he and Arez travelling in the correct direction?

He tightened his arm around her, afraid he’d lose his grip and she’d be pulled away. The already strong wind had increased substantially and now made odd sucking noises. Once more, he saw dark flashes within all the light.

What if they weren’t entries to the other dimensions but blurred outlines of the guards? Had they followed him and Arez? Had Vakar? And what of the werewolves and subhumans?

Were they also inside?

The light flared, hurting Lukan’s eyes. Arez moaned.

Lukan pushed her face to his shoulder, shielding her from the unbearable illumination. On and on they travelled through the void’s nothingness, far longer than when Meelo and Damir had taken him from E4 to Regina’s realm. Then, no more than a few seconds had passed.

This wasn’t right. Had he and Arez already passed the correct entrance and were now lost in this emptiness, doomed never to stop?

Fighting drowsiness, he attempted to turn them so they’d go in another direction. It didn’t work. No matter what he tried, Lukan was too weak, the pull too strong.

Arez dug her fingers into him. “What’s happening?”

Lukan wasn’t certain. Behind his closed lids, he sensed the light dimming slightly. The wind no longer buffeted them. At length, everything went still and quiet.

And then he smelled a fragrance he knew. One Nikoli had called peaches and vanilla. Regina’s scent.

She stood near the table in Nikoli’s workspace. He faced the wall, his device in hand. Behind him were Meelo and Damir.

Tears Lukan had never seen before glistened in the couple’s eyes.

Chapter Fifteen

Regina knew she was cutting it close to get to her office on time, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave.

Arez was not what she’d expected.

Having suffered a lifetime of slavery, the young woman might have reacted to her first moments of freedom in a number of ways. Relieved that her imprisonment was finally over. Lethargic after having suffered so much unhappiness. Fearful that her liberation wouldn’t last and she’d have to return to the Palace. Enraged at what Vakar and the other rules had done to her.

She showed none of the anticipated emotions. Her concern wasn’t for herself but for Lukan. After they came through the portal, Arez blocked Damir and Meelo from going to him. She swung the stun gun in warning and growled in a language Regina didn’t understand, but her intent was quite clear. They sure as hell better not harm him. If they tried, she’d annihilate them.

Only Lukan’s assurances caused Arez to back off. His speech was slurred as though he’d been drugged.

Damir’s hand went to her throat. “The guards must have hit him with one of the calming darts.”

Meelo put his good arm around Lukan’s waist, unmindful of Arez’s frown and his own paralysis as he helped the younger man to Nikoli’s chair. Arez stood at Lukan’s side, watching carefully while Lukan spoke to the man and woman who’d created them.

Regina tried not to stare at Arez, but couldn’t help herself. The void’s wind had disheveled the girl’s hair. Mud coated her shoes. Streaks of it dirtied her clothes, hands and face. She was filthy but also one of the loveliest humans Regina had ever seen. As perfect as Lukan. Just as Damir had promised, his eyes were again blue-green, his hair returned to blond, the dye she’d used on him gone.

Minutes passed before the tranquilizer’s effect wore off, which Meelo assured them wouldn’t have any lasting effects. Nevertheless, Arez remained at Lukan’s side, ignoring everyone except her man.

At last, Lukan left the chair and tested his legs. Arez kept a careful watch.

“Are you all right?” Damir asked again as she had several times before.

He nodded. Taking Arez’s hand, he murmured something, then led her downstairs.

“Where are they going?” Regina asked Nikoli.

“The kitchen.”

Regina thought it was because they were hungry, but when she and Nikoli entered the room, Lukan was at the refrigerator with Arez, showing her its and the freezer’s contents. From there, he brought her to the pantry. He pulled cans and boxes from the shelves, reading the labels, presenting each to her.

She touched and studied them as another woman would expensive diamonds or the most exquisite pearls. Wonder flooded her exquisite features. Tears welled in her eyes.

Lukan opened a bag of lemon cream cookies and offered them. Shaking her head, Arez said something to him, clearly wanting him to have the first bite. They settled the matter by feeding each other.

“What else do you think they’d like?” Regina asked Nikoli. If she had to buy out the entire supermarket before going to her office, she was going to get them whatever they wanted. Never again would either of them go hungry, at least not in her house.

Slipping his arm around her waist, Nikoli leaned into her. “I think what they’d like the most is if we left them alone.”

Easy for him to say. Regina felt like a parent with young teens who were going on their first dates. It was an effort, but she allowed him to lead her from the kitchen. Meelo and Damir were in the hall outside of it, straining to see what went on inside.

“Lukan and Arez are fine,” Nikoli assured.

Meelo spoke quietly. “Upstairs, Lukan said something about dark shapes appearing periodically in the void. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Neither has Damir. Have you?”

Nikoli shook his head.

The flare of concern Regina saw in his eyes worried her. “What’s it mean?”

He directed them all away from the kitchen to the dining room and spoke low enough so Lukan couldn’t overhear. “I don’t know. I used materials from this side. They react differently from those on E2.” He turned to Meelo. “Could the dark shapes be the void branching off into different dimensions?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” the man said. “Perhaps it happens all the time and we never saw it before because we’d travelled so quickly using E2’s devices.”

“Could the void have split spontaneously?” Damir asked. “Just as portals have been opening by themselves over time?”

Nikoli rubbed his mouth. “I guess.”

He guessed? The man who had his science down to the most precise calculations was giving such an unscientific answer?

“What’s wrong?” Regina asked. Despite their über-calm discussion and stony faces, she sensed their anxiety. “What are you saying?”

The three of them exchanged a glance.

She gritted her teeth. Her frustration didn’t last. Feeling queasy, Regina said, “Did someone or something travel through the void with Arez and Lukan? Is that what made those dark shapes?”

“I don’t know,” Nikoli said.

Of all the times for him to be uncertain, she didn’t want it to be now. “Then you’re saying it’s not impossible?” She frowned. “How can that be if only Lukan and Arez came through? Oh my God.” Regina stepped back. “Did you close the portal? Is it still open? Will someone or something come—”

“It’s closed.” He wrapped his fingers around her arm, keeping Regina from running upstairs. “Nothing’s going to come through it.”

Good to know, but it hardly addressed her other concerns. “What about those parts of the void that you think might have branched off? If there was something in there other than Lukan and Arez, did that thing or person go to another dimension? Or would it have come out in this realm at a spot other than this house?”

Gently, Nikoli squeezed her biceps. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I don’t care about me,” Regina shot back. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Should I be worried about that?”

“Not from anything that travelled in the void with Arez and Lukan.”

“Why?”

“How could they find this place, Regina? How could they find us?” Nikoli continued to ask. “Even if men from E4 followed, they don’t know you or me.” He hesitated, then added, “Not like Sheehan and Goddard do.”

No way did Regina want to talk about them now. “You’re right. Everything’s going to be fine.”

No one affirmed her comment. Quiet conversation followed by Lukan’s soft laughter drifted from the pantry.

So what happened now? They all went back to their respective lives and hoped for the best? Regina didn’t think so. What if whatever was in the void found Lukan and Arez? Would they recapture and haul the two pleasure slaves back to the Palace? Regina thought of Nikoli’s device upstairs. Without it, Arez and Lukan had no means of escape from this realm. Nor did she or Nikoli, should the cops prove to be a greater problem than she’d claimed.

“Why don’t all of you stay here for the time being?” she suggested. That way if anything happened, they could all use the device to flee. “Just for a few days,” she added in response to Nikoli’s expression. Maybe in that time, he could build another device for the others to use. “It’ll give everyone time to relax and make plans, especially Arez and Lukan.”

In the end, no one objected.

Shortly before seven, she returned from what proved to be an ordinary day of patient appointments, noting that Lukan and Arez had showered and changed into fresh clothes during her absence. After they all shared a late dinner, Meelo and Damir retired to the spare bedroom. With Nikoli’s consent, Regina offered the master bedroom to Lukan and Arez, eager to see to their comfort.

As Lukan explained to Arez where they’d be staying, she shook her head and held back. After a brief conversation with her, Lukan asked in English, “Is there a place outside where we can sleep tonight?”

Regina asked, “Why?”

“Arez doesn’t want to be trapped in yet another room. She’s known nothing but that ever since she was created. She wants to smell the air and see the sky.”

It was so little to ask, Regina had to turn away so they wouldn’t see her sorrow and outrage at what E2’s rulers had done. How many other slaves were in the Palace tonight with no hope of rescue? How many scientists like Meelo and Damir were creating others for a life of servitude?

Regina bristled, wanting to fight them all and make them pay for their crimes.

Reading her mood as he always did, Nikoli whispered, “Let’s get them settled. It’s all we can do tonight.”

While the young lovers waited patiently, Nikoli gathered what they needed, putting it in the backyard.

He slung his arm around Regina’s shoulders, watching with her from the kitchen as Arez and Lukan sat cross-legged on a blanket, staring up at the sky. Lukan pointed at the stars. Arez’s smile reminded Regina of a child’s at Christmas upon seeing a tree laden with lights and surrounded with gaily wrapped gifts.

“Will they be all right?” she asked.

“I won’t let anything happen to them,” he promised.