Phantom of the Wind (28 page)

The pendulum seemed to fall another foot, stopping the breath in Quinn’s throat as he stared at the blade with horror as it slowly passed over his head then swung back the other way.

“I thought you might like to know a few things,” O’Shay said.

“I know all I want to know,” Quinn growled. His jaws were clenched tightly together, his teeth grinding against one another. A tiny trickle of blood eased down the left side of his mouth for at some point he had bitten his lower lip.

“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.” O’Shay reached up as the blade swung past and stopped it directly over Quinn’s groin.

Quinn swallowed, hating the tremors that rippled down his body.

“I have contacted the Burgon and he has agreed to forgive the debt of honor concerning his family’s death. He understands Morrison ordered the attack and has agreed not to hold me responsible.”

Quinn just stared at his captor, unable to believe what the man was saying. He knew Ryden Bakari better than that, and knew the Burgon would never forgive the man who ordered the death of his family. He also knew him well enough to know Bakari would not have agreed that Morrison was the culprit.

“I have the agreement with the Great Seal upon it so there will be no reprisal forthcoming from the Burgon.”

“Do you really think I believe that?”

“I don’t care what you believe. In exchange for your worthless life, the Burgon has given me his personal word that I will not be held accountable for the attack on the palace.”

“You’re lying,” Quinn said.

O’Shay smiled hatefully then started the pendulum swinging once more. He pulled and another clink sounded in the cogs before its time and the blade when it swung back over Quinn’s groin was less than a foot above the prisoner’s body.

“Just so you’ll know,” O’Shay said. “Kendall has agreed to join me. Once she is on board the
Raptor
, you will be put in a Fiach and sent on your merry way, bound and drugged of course so you can’t come after us.”

“You’re full of shit!” Quinn hissed.

“She may not be thrilled to be with me, but I will have her, nevertheless. As long as I promise her your safety, she will stay with me wherever I decide to go. I am a wealthy man and that could be anywhere I choose.”

“And I’ll come after you no matter where you go,” Quinn vowed. “You’d better kill me, O’Shay, or I swear to you I will gut you for ever having touched my woman and for what you did to the Burgon’s family!”

“I’m sure you’d try,” O’Shay said. He looked up at the pendulum. “Well, I won’t be seeing you again. Think of me with Kendall. That should keep you warm until the pendulum stops. Once she is with me, I’ll let them know where you are. I know you hope they will arrive in time!” Maniacal laughter followed O’Shay as he walked away.

Another swish, another clink and the blade descended another millimeter. A tiny spurt of urine escaped Quinn’s cock for he could have sworn he felt the brush of the cutting edge scrape across the waistband of his pajamas. He turned his head—searching for O’Shay—but the man was gone, the room as quiet as the grave save for the swishing of the blade passing over the slab.

“Alel, please,” Quinn begged. “Don’t let me die like this.”

It seemed hours yet it was only a few minutes before he heard footsteps running toward him. He heard someone gasp then felt the blade graze his cock. He yelled—seeing a bright wash of red clouding his vision—then he pitched into perfect ebony darkness, his mind finally shutting down from the strain.

Chapter Eleven

0845 CMT

The Phantom’s eyelids fluttered open and he found himself staring into the worried gray eyes of Shanee Iphito. He hurt in every bone and muscle in his body but it was the stinging between his legs that dropped a single tear down his right cheek.

“You’re safe, Quinn,” Shanee told him. “O’Shay has gone and I am in control of the
Raptor
.”

“My lady?” Quinn rasped, his throat dry, his spirit crushed.

“She is with O’Shay.”

Quinn groaned, completely demoralized by such devastating news. He wanted to cry, to scream, to rant and rail, but he was so weak, he could do no more than turn his head on the pillow and close his eyes.

“You have no idea how scared I was when I saw you under that thing,” Shanee said, rubbing his forearm, careful not to touch the bandages the healer had applied to his wounds. “Another minute and I would have been too late.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he managed to whisper.

“You didn’t lose anything if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said, and laid a hand gently between his legs. “It nicked you, but it was only a scratch.”

That news helped to ease the horror in his mind, but just knowing Kendall was at the mercy of a madman hurt more than any cut on his body ever could.

“The Burgon and his supporters will be joining us shortly. They are worried about you,” she told him. When he didn’t respond, she moved her hand to his chest and stroked him. “You rest. Everything is going to be all right.”

He must have slept for quite some time for when next he opened his eyes, Ryden Bakari was sitting beside him.

“How are you, my friend?”

“Kendall?” Quinn asked, the word sounding rough.

“She is with O’Shay but we know precisely where she is, even though they are on a specially designed Fiach that is supposed to have advanced stealth capabilities. When they land—wherever they land—I’ll be right behind them. I just wanted to make sure you were all right before I left.”

“You swore—”

“Me?” Ryden asked, putting a hand to his chest. “I swore nothing to that liar, Quinn.” He smiled. “When Ben-Alkazar comes in, be sure to afford him the respect due the new Burgon of Aduaidh Prime, will you?”

Quinn’s brows drew together. “I don’t understand.”

“Ayo will explain it to you. He’s chomping at the bit wanting to come in to see you.” He patted Quinn’s shoulder. “Take care, and when next we meet, I am hoping it will be in Theristes where I can take a nice, long rest.”

He must have drifted off again for when he woke this time, Ayo was sitting in a chair, his chin to his chest, snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

“Ayo?” he had to call twice before the dark man sputtered awake, jerking his head up.

“Well, at last, you lazy Cengusian!” the Necroman said. “How much beauty sleep do you need, pretty boy?”

“What’s happening to me? Why can’t I stay awake?” he asked, barely able to stay awake.

“You were given a strong sedative when Bakari left. He wanted you to sleep for he said you looked—I think the word was wounded.” Ayo shrugged. “I’ve been waiting hours for you to open those delicious blue eyes of yours.”

“I have to go after my lady,” Quinn said, but he couldn’t even lift his arm though he struggled to do so.

“Stop that!” Ayo said, and put a hand on Quinn’s arm. “You are strapped down so you can’t go strolling about.”

“Untie me, Ayo,” Quinn demanded.
“I have to—”

“What you have to do is mend,” someone said, and when Quinn managed to turn his head, he was surprised to see Gabriel Leveche leaning against the doorjamb. “Everything is under control.”

“Untie me,” Quinn said.

Leveche pushed away from the door and nodded at Ayo. Together, they unbuckled the restraints that were holding the Phantom’s forearms down. “We thought you might like to know O’Shay left Kendall in
an Rúis
and has taken off without her.”

“He discovered she had the implant?” Ayo asked.

“Aye, and apparently didn’t want to waste time having it removed before he fled,” Leveche said, folding his brawny arms across his chest. “Once he found out Ben-Alkazar is now the Burgon and it was he who signed the agreement, O’Shay realized Ryden was coming after him.”

“May he find that bastard and whittle him into little pieces,” Ayo said.

“Oh he’ll find him,” Leveche replied. “He has the taste of him in his mouth and that’s all he’ll need.”

Quinn struggled to sit up but neither man would allow him. He batted away their hands but his own soon fell uselessly to the sheets. The cloud of the sedative was undulating through his system and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open.

“What is he talking about, Ayo?” the Phantom asked.

“Don’t look at me,” the Necroman said. “I’m not the Reaper here.”

The last thing Quinn heard was Leveche’s laughter and a sentence that made absolutely no sense to him…

“Ryden said he never wanted to be like me but he changed his mind.”

* * * * *

By the time Quinn came to himself without the blurring of the sedative crippling his mind, the chair was occupied by the most beautiful sight in all the megaverse to him.

“
Lhiannan
!” he gasped, and tried to sit up.

Kendall shot up from the chair and put her hand in the center of his chest. “Lie back down or I will leave,” she ordered. She pushed him down. “Do you understand, Phantom?”

“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes roaming over her, checking for injuries.

“Better than my husband, it seems,” she said. “You lost quite a bit of blood.” She lightly touched his wrist. “I unwrapped the bandages and checked the sutures that old-fashioned healer on the
Raptor
did. The man needs sewing lessons! Once we got you over here to the
Sláinte
and under the TAOS, you were fine. There is barely a line now where those wires sliced into your flesh.” She giggled. “Even your pee-pee is all healed.”

“What a ridiculous name for a male’s goody point,” Munchkin said as she looked up at Quinn. The Elfinish was sitting on the floor at Kendall’s feet. “That is almost as silly sounding as tallywhacker.” She shuddered. “And this is just gross.”

“Munch, why don’t you go find Parks and get him to give you some milk,” Kendall suggested, but the feline merely blinked up at her and remained where she was.

“I’m on the
Sláinte
?” he asked, confusion lurking in his blue eyes.

“Aye, we are, and we’re on our way back to Theristes, this time for a longer stay, I hope.”

“The Burgon?” he asked, searching her eyes.

“Which one?” she queried. “The old or the new?”

“Where is Ryden?” he asked.

“Somewhere out there after O’Shay,” she said. “He’ll find him, and when he returns, I intend to find him a new lady to occupy his time.”

Quinn groaned. “Don’t start playing matchmaker, Kenni,” he pleaded then remembered the curious statement Gabriel Leveche had made.

“Leveche? Where is he?” he asked.

“He and the others—Drae, Cosaint, Ghrian and Ayo—are on their way back to their home worlds. They didn’t leave until it was a sure thing that you were on the mend. General Reeve and the new Burgon are on their way to Aduaidh Prime and Paton is a few clicks behind us. I believe the Tiogar is taking the Reapers back to Theristes so he can meet Tariq.”

“Leveche said…”

“Aye,” she interrupted him. “I know what he said. He told me and he also told me you’d want to know what he meant.”

“He gave Ryden a fledgling,” Quinn said. “Didn’t he?”

“Ryden asked for he what wanted to make very sure there would be no way for O’Shay to escape the justice he planned for him.”

“He hinted they had put some kind of device in you?” he asked, his face showing his concern.

“A tracking device. I was told to make sure O’Shay knew I had it in me and that I was to scratch him, draw his blood, get it under my fingernails and—”

“And save it for Ryden,” Quinn finished for her.

She nodded. “All of which I did. When O’Shay realized I would fight him ‘til my dying breath, he lost interest fairly quickly. I think he was more concerned about keeping out of Ryden Bakari’s sights than keeping hold of me.”

“Ryden won’t rest until he has taken O’Shay,” Quinn prophesied.

“And we’ll hear all about it when he returns,” she agreed. She stroked his cheek. “Why are you crying?” she asked.

“I died a thousand times thinking of you with O’Shay,” he told her.

She smiled, wanting to drive the shadows from his eyes. “Did you hear me tell you that your pee-pee is mended?”

“A man wouldn’t ignore a woman telling him that, wench,” he said, sniffling.

Kendall slid her hand down to his cock. “Let’s make sure though, okay?”

He opened his mouth to protest but she was already bending over him, his pajamas being pushed down, her warm, moist mouth enclosing him with the artistry he had come to expect from Kendall Quinn.

Munchkin rolled her pink eyes and turned around to pad from the sick bay. “Humanoids,” she said with a snort. “All they think of is sex. It gets to be—”

He was standing at the end of the hallway, his sparse black tail straight up in the air at the female’s approach. He opened his mouth, curled his upper lip back and drew her scent in through his Jacobson’s gland along the top of his mouth. His red eyes glowed with a fiery light.

The Elfinish female came to an abrupt halt at the sight of the male, the first one she’d ever seen. She flicked her tail, sniffed. Turned sideways and sidled a few feet closer, her whiskers twitching, showing him her sharp teeth.