Irresistible (Delroi Prophecy) (11 page)

She heard the revulsion in Vidar’s tone
and wondered if Kaje would have chosen death. It didn’t matter now. She sat on
the one seat in the room and strapped in, then met the pilot’s gaze.

“Let’s get him home.”

Power infused her voice and he didn’t
argue. He banged his fist over his heart in a warrior’s salute.

“Yes, priestess.”

Vidar hesitated a moment before leaving.
“I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

She nodded, unable to speak or meet his
gaze while she began the arduous task of reigning in her power and rebuilding
her shields. As she did, the shuttle lifted into the air and she began to pick
up random thoughts. Vidar and Zola were worried about her. The other warriors
were awed. They believed she’d been touched by the goddess. How long before
that emotion turned to fear and belief into reason to kill her? Finally she
shut off all the voices, closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the
wall. One thing had been proved today. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill to protect
those she loved. And she definitely loved the man in that tank. The question
was what was she going to do about it?
 

Chapter Eleven

Rona was waiting when she disembarked
and though Parker knew she had to speak with the other woman, she sure as hell
wasn’t leaving Kaje. Somehow the high priestess knew. She fell into step with
Parker and Zola as they followed the tank to the infirmary.

“Vids of the attack have already hit the
media system,” Rona said.

“Is that bad for us?” Zola asked.

“It’s excellent for the goddess cult and
the Keep. Acceptance of the prophecy is spreading, which makes us stronger. In
addition to that you’ve…enhanced the image of the clan’s strength.”

“But?” Parker asked. She knew there was
a but. There always was.

Rona sighed. “Some people resent
strength in others. Especially when that power is held by women.”

Parker didn’t need it spelled out for
her. Especially in this warrior centric culture. And what about her warrior?
She looked at Kaje, still in the tank, still unconscious. Would he resent her?
Fear her? That was one thing she couldn’t stand to see happen. She had to get
out of there. Go someplace she could deal with the turmoil that had settled
over her. But she had to make sure he’d be safe first. She approached the
healer who’d attached a tablet to the face of the tank. The display looked like
a typical hospital monitor back home.

“He’ll be okay?” she whispered. It
shredded her to see him like this.

“Twenty-four hours, priestess. Slower if
he refuses to stay in the tank.”

“I thought once you went in you couldn’t
get out for a full day?”

“Normally. But there are ways around the
protocol. If he insists I’ll have to let him out.”

“Great,” she muttered, sarcastically. “Will
he survive that?”

“He will. Most of his injuries are
superficial.”

“The others?”

He tapped something on the screen and
the readout was replaced with an image of his injuries. Jarek pointed to his
thigh. “His artery was nicked. They got him into the tank in time though. It’s
already healing.”

“Why is he still unconscious?”

“Sedative in the gel. He’ll come out of
it in a couple of hours.”

Thank the goddess. She closed her eyes,
took a deep breath, and then turned back to face the others. Vidar was
surrounded by his warriors but Rona and Zola had disappeared.

“Where
did you go?”
she asked Zola.

“The
temple.”

“I’ll
meet you there later.”

She needed time. Wasn’t sure of her
control.

“Call me when he wakes up,” she told
Vidar, who scowled back.

“He wouldn’t want you wandering around
unguarded.”

“I can take care of myself. I think I
proved that today,” she responded softly. Almost threatening.

He stayed silent several heartbeats and
she could see the struggle in his eyes. Finally, he stepped back, and pounded
his fist over his chest.

“Priestess of the Keep,” he said. “Go
with the blessing of the warrior god.”

Every single male in the room snapped to
attention, saluted in the same way, and echoed his words. Like their brief
battle earlier, she knew this tale would spread. This was more than acceptance
but she wasn’t quite sure what. She just knew she needed time alone to think.

“How
am I supposed to respond to that?”
she asked Vidar.

She heard the smile in his tone.
“May the goddess watch over you.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“If
they turn on me, I’m blaming you.”

Laughter rang in her head.
“Of course, my Lady.”

“Oh
shut up.”

“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me.” She
nodded, met everyone’s gaze before she continued. “May the goddess watch over you.”

The crowd parted as she walked through
it. It felt damn near biblical. No one followed her as she left. She continued
through the warrior’s compound to Kaje’s quarters, to his beach.
Their
beach. She sat on the bottom step
and pulled her boots and socks off, then walked out onto the sand. It was a
peaceful place but she was far from serene.

She was still so fucking angry. She
wanted a real life. For the first time she had a shot at it and, Tel, that
giant pain in her ass, was coming after her. Again. But this time, she knew
exactly what she was capable of when she was enraged and let herself go. She’d
never done that before, hadn’t dare release the full fury of her power. It had
scared her, but no more. Kareena and Parker were family. Kaje and Vidar had her
respect and friendship at the very least. There were people who wanted to take
that from her. The enemy was out there. Waiting. Fuck them.

No one was going to ruin what she had
found. What she was building. If Kaje still wanted her. The thought made her
cringe. How many had she killed? Dear goddess, were any of them innocent? She’d
always been so careful. And now she’d lost control so completely she wasn’t
sure if she’d screwed up. Cry or scream? Which should she do? Then suddenly she
felt Kaje. He was still unconscious, still hurt, but somehow he felt her
confusion and reached out for her. She took her first steady breath for hours. He
really was going to be okay. She put her boots on and headed to the temple, went
straight to Rona’s office. The sight that met her eyes stopped her dead in her
tracks. For a moment. Then stubbornness took over.

“Is this an intervention?” she asked
dryly, stepping inside and allowing the door to swing shut behind her.

It was a hell of a gathering. Zola,
Kareena, Janice, Britt, Rona, Kayna, and three other women that Parker assumed
were priestesses. Rona handed her a goblet of
gazzi
.

“It’s a celebration for a job well done,
daughter.”

The honorific surprised her. The
approval stunned her. They weren’t afraid of her. They were welcoming her. She
had no idea how to deal with that so she just sipped her wine.

“Kaje?” Janice asked, almost gently.

Parker reached out, touched his mind. “He’ll
be fine.”

“Good. So the issue at hand. Tel.”

No one said anything and she realized
that Rona expected her to take the lead. A few hours ago she might not have
understood. Might not have wanted to get involved. Now she did. She’d chosen
her side. She stepped forward, looked at Janice and then Britt.

“The goddess cult will deal with Tel.
I
will.”

Britt rolled her eyes. “You know that
won’t fly.”

She shook her head. “You can’t do what I
can. And you can’t touch what Zola and I can do together.”

Somehow they’d merged perfectly in that
battle, anticipating each other, skills complimenting each other. But it was so
much more. She’d felt touched by the divine. It made her leery and giddy at the
same time.

“Have
we been drugged?”
she asked Zola.

“I
don’t think so.”

“So
this connection. You think it’s real?”

“What
if it is? What if there is a goddess here, waiting, and she’s chosen us?”
Kareena said, entering the private conversation.

“Y’all need to start sharing with the
rest of us,” Britt said, sounding peeved. Like hell.

“You said there were vids? I need to see
those first,” Parker said to Rona, who shrugged one shoulder and picked up a
remote.

A screen slid down from the ceiling in
front of the bookcases and Rona typed some commands on the tablet on her desk.
The video started with her walking out of the alley, Zola at her side. Parker
was clearly focused on the enemy. She walked right towards them, her eyes
almost glowing. Zola stayed with her, a negligent flick of her hand deflecting
every shot aimed at them.

“Oh wow,” Zola breathed, at her side. “We
were awesome.”

“But how did we do it?” Parker replied
just as softly.

“No idea. But it clearly works. Now
what?”

Parker looked at Rona. “I can track
them. I want them.”

“That’s a political decision,” Rona
said, shrugging, looking almost indifferent while her eyes screamed revenge. “The
goddess cult doesn’t interfere.”

“And you’re not going to tell us
anything, are you?” Britt asked.

“The cult and the Keep will deal with
whatever comes at it,” Rona said. “Our goddess has chosen.”

“How do you figure that?” Janice asked.

Rona’s smile was beatific, and she
pointed them out, one by one.

“The mother.” Kareena.

“The warrior.” Parker.

“And the artist.” Zola.

She wanted to protest, she did, but she
felt something here that was so far beyond her.

“I thought it was warrior, artist,
healer,” Britt said, making it clear the order she expected things to land in.

“The mother is the healer. She
is…everything. And so are the warrior and the artist.” Rona paused. “The
goddess has brought her vessels back with no foreknowledge, but she hasn’t
brought them back weak.”

But Parker did not want to be a killer.
Didn’t want to spend the rest of her life in that trade. Running and hiding.

“This has got to end,” she said.

Tel coming after her was one thing. But going
after Kaje? Un-fucking-acceptable. He would be off limits, damn it.

“I agree,” Britt said. “But priestess or
not, how likely is it that your
der’lan
will allow it?”

“First, that isn’t official. And second,
this threat is against me.”

“And third, we won’t have to track them,”
Zola said.

That was true. They’d already talked
about letting Tel come to them. She’d just been too angry to wait.

“I agree with Zola,” Rona said. “They’ll
come after you here. During the celebration.”

“Yeah,” Parker said.

“Nerine? Do you see anything?”

One of the priestess turned from the balcony
doors and stepped closer. She was tall and thin with long pale blond hair and
eyes so light blue Parker wondered if she was blind.

“Nerine is a seer and runs the Saber
City temple,” Rona told the room.

“I don’t see anything particular.
Danger, of course, and it will be here, but I can’t see who it’s from or what
the outcome will be. Only that they are at the center of it,” Nerine said,
indicating Parker, Zola, and Kareena.

Kareena snorted. “Roarr’s just gonna
love
hearing that.”

Every woman in the room who wore a mate
mark grimaced in sympathy. And she was seriously thinking about taking Kaje on?
That might come back to bite her in the ass.

“Do you think we could practice what you
and Parker did? Maybe it will work with me too,” Kareena suggested.

“It’s worth a shot,” Zola said.

“Too bad we only have one telekinetic,”
Britt mused.

“That’s not exactly true,” Rona said. “We
only have one
Earthling
telekinetic.”

Now Parker understood why the unknown
priestesses were in the room.

“Selene, and Lena. Two of my best.”

“Can you do what Zola can?”

“Not as accurately or for a long length
of time,” Lena said. “We’re not as strong.”

“If you’re interested they can work with
you at the temple in Saber City.”

While the women made plans, Parker
walked out onto the balcony. A moment later Kareena joined her.

“You okay?”

“Not a scratch.”

“Really?”

“I’m not the one who nearly got blown
up.”

“No you’re the one who walked into a
hail of weapons’ fire. What the fuck was that about?”

 
She
sighed. Sometimes it felt like she’d known Kareena forever and she knew her
best friend wasn’t about to let her off the hook now.

“I thought Kaje was dead. I kind of lost
it.”

Kareena gaped.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she
snapped. “If it had been Roarr what would you have done?”

“Point taken.” A heartbeat’s pause. “Why
aren’t you wiped out?”

“I drew on my reserves. I’m okay, just a
little tired.”

Again, she’d surprised her old friend. “You’re
stronger than me, aren’t you? And by a lot. Why didn’t you tell me?”

How could she possibly answer that? She
hadn’t said anything because she had no idea how strong her telepathy was?
Because she was sure people would fear her if they did know? Even her best
friend.

“I would never turn against you, Parker,”
Kareena said softly, gently, as if she knew exactly what was going through
Parker’s head. When she checked though, her shields were rock solid.

“How did you know?”