Revealed (36 page)

“I will show you.” The priestess’s voice was low and severe. “Prepare yourselves.”

Suddenly the vast, dark space was empty. Then it was filled with a field of winking stars surrounding a small black ball.
No, not a ball,
Rast thought.
It’s a planet—a planet floating in space.
But as the scene zoomed in, getting closer, he could see that the blackness of the planet wasn’t stone or water—it was something living. Or many somethings—all writhing together in a shapeless mass that covered the planet’s surface.

“Behold Hrakaz, home of the Hoard.” The priestess spoke harshly but Rast thought he could detect fear in her voice. “Known to themselves as the
Grimlax
and to others as The Blackness which Eats the Stars. They are a vile, desperate, soulless rabble, intent only on devouring everything in their way and making everything as stark and barren as their own miserable rock of a planet.”

“I can see that their whole planet is black with them,” Sophia said timidly. “But why…why are they called The Blackness which Eats the Stars?”

“For this reason. Watch.” The Priestess nodded at the scene. Suddenly, from the side of the planet, a ship thrust outward into space. And then another and another until the space around them was black with exiting ships, blotting out the nearby stars.

“Oh,” Nadiah breathed and Rast could hear the fear in her voice. “They’re looking for new worlds,” she said. “I can feel their hunger.”

“That is correct.” The priestess gave her a grudging nod of approval. “The Hoard live on a planet in our solar system—only a few hundred million miles from the orbit of
First World
. They had long been known to us but Counselor
 
Kall and his mate thought they only preyed on passing ships and would fear to attack a planet so large and well defended as
First World
. When they saw this…” She swept an arm to indicate the scene in front of them. “They knew differently. The Hoard were coming and there was little time to prepare.”

“What did they do?” Sophia asked, her eyes wide. “How could they defend
First World
against so many?”

“The
Challa
and his
Lyzel
knew that both of them would die in the coming conflict,” the priestess said. “It is one of the burdens a Counselor
 
and his mate must bear—to know the hour of their own deaths. However, they had time to safeguard their son and send him far away—to a place they hoped the Hoard would never reach.”

“They sent him as far away as possible,” Sylvan said quietly, looking at Rast. “They sent him to Earth.”

“What?” Rast suddenly understood what he was saying. “Sylvan, come on, you can’t be serious. I’m not…those can’t be my parents. Can they?”

“That is what we must prove or disprove, Adam Rast…are you the son of Kall and Zali, the last
Challa
and
Lyzel
of First World, or are you not?” intoned the priestess.

“I’m not,” he said at once. “I mean, I
can’t
be. Didn’t you say this happened a long time ago?”

“A thousand years ago at least, if what Sylvan told me was right,” Sophia said. “I don’t see how he could be either,” said, turning to Nadiah.

“A special ship was built—one equipped with a stasis chamber and faster than light ability,” the priestess said. “It traveled through the fourth dimension—time, as well as space. So though a thousand years had passed on
First World
, by the time its occupant—the Counselor ’s only son—reached his destination, he was still only two or three standard years old.”

Sophia frowned. “But I thought, if you left someone in stasis too long it made them sick or over aged them or something once they got out.”

“That’s true if you leave them in with no breaks at all,” Sylvan said thoughtfully. “But if you brought them out every once in awhile—say, even for a minute every day or two—they could stay in stasis almost forever with no ill effects.”

“So it
is
possible.” Rast suddenly felt weak in the knees. “Damn. Makes me wish I would’ve paid better attention in physics class.”

“It is certainly possible,” the priestess said. “And this is the year the Counselor
 
was prophesied to be found on a foreign planet. It was said of him,
‘
He will know your ways as if born to them. There shall be wisdom on his tongue and truth and healing in his wings.’”

Sylvan frowned. “Rast, the way you took to piloting a Kindred ship. It amazed me—I’ve never seen anyone learn to fly that fast.”

“And the way you were able to break the blood bond for me,” Nadiah chimed in.

“Not to mention the fact that your blood tests prove you’re Kindred instead of human,” Sophia added.

“All right, all right.” Rast held up his hands for quiet. “I get it. But what about the wings part—that’s got to be a mistake—right?”

“There is no mistake.” Suddenly the high priestess was right behind him. Before Rast could stop her, she grabbed the back of his white gown at the neck and ripped it straight down the middle, baring his back.

“Hey,” he protested. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Looking for that which is not there…but should be.” The priestess ran one sharp green nail down his right shoulder blade and Rast shouted with pain.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it! That feels like you poured lighter fluid down my back and lit a match, damn it!”

“The wing shadows are there.” The priestess seemed to be talking to herself, completely unconcerned with the pain she’d caused him. “But the wings themselves have not manifested yet.”

“What wings?” Nadiah came around to see what the priestess was talking about and sucked in a breath. “It’s just like my dream. My nightmare,” she whispered. “Rast, your back…you have these long scars. And they’re…it looks like they’re
moving…”

“Hey, stop it! Both of you!” Rast rounded on them and stabbed a finger at the high priestess. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about and I don’t
want
to know,” he snarled. “And I don’t care if I’m the long lost son of your Counselor
 
or
Challa
or whatever the fuck he was, either. All I want is to get Nadiah healed and get
off
this God forsaken planet.”

The high priestess’s blank emerald eyes narrowed menacingly. “I am afraid, Adam Rast, that both of your wishes are completely impossible. For you cannot heal your little female until you prove yourself. And if you prove yourself, you must never leave
First World
again.”

“Ready to turn in?” Liv asked, looking fondly at her husband, Baird. He’d been yawning for an hour but he was still up, doggedly slogging through a book about parenting. The huge Beast Kindred warrior wasn’t usually much of a reader but he was determined to do everything just right when their son arrived.

“Mmm?” He looked up, his golden eyes drooping with fatigue. “Sorry,
Lilenta,
what did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

“I asked if you were sleepy yet. Because I sure am—it was a long day at the med station without Sylvan to help.” She stifled a yawn. “Not to mention that I had to field a call from Nadiah’s parents demanding to talk to her.”

“Oh?” Baird frowned. “And what did you say?”

Liv shrugged. “I told them she was making a pilgrimage to
First World
and wasn’t available. They weren’t too happy about it, either.” She frowned. “And on top of all that, I had to keep checking on Elise Darden.”

“Why did you have to keep checking on her?” Baird left the book on the couch and wandered over to her, scratching his bare chest. “I thought she was in the stasis chamber—she oughta be fine.”

“She is, but the way Sylvan’s got it set, she could wake up at any time.” Liv frowned. “Not that she could so much as twitch a toe without your friend, Merrick noticing it. He’s in there with her day and night—I don’t think he ever eats or sleeps.”

“
Merrick
is Sylvan’s friend, not mine,” Baird rumbled. “I didn’t even know he was a hybrid until he showed up—Sylvan never told me. He doesn’t talk about him much.”

“Is that such a bad thing—being a hybrid?” Liv asked curiously. “I mean, I would think it would be
good.
You get the best of both worlds, right?”

“Afraid not,
Lilienta.”
Baird shook his head. “More like you get the
worst
of both worlds. The Beast Kindred side gives you berserker rage—an animalistic joy in killing.”

Liv shivered. “But
you’re
not like that.”

“I could be though,” Baird said seriously. “If I thought you or the baby was threatened.” He stroked her rounded belly gently. “But the same emotions that would set me off would also help me stop. For instance, I would become upset if I found I was hurting an innocent bystander and that would keep me from attacking them.”

Liv frowned. “What are you saying? That
Merrick
wouldn’t stop?”

Baird shook his head. “The Blood Kindred part of him makes him cold. Once the urge to kill is on him, he kills without mercy and without stopping until every last enemy is dead. He’s got no compassion at all.”

Liv put a hand to her chest. “A sociopath. You’re saying he’s a
sociopath.”

Baird thought for a minute, then shrugged. “I guess, in a manner of speaking. But only when he’s fighting. And in Merrick’s defense, I don’t believe he
wants
to be the way he is—that’s why he went to the temple on
First World
before Sylvan and Sophia’s joining ceremony. He didn’t want to bring them bad luck with his hybrid ways.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Liv said doubtfully. “But are you sure it’s safe to leave Elise alone with him? I mean, I don’t even know the poor girl but she’s so small and he’s so
huge
. And after what you just told me I—”

“Don’t worry about that,” Baird said firmly, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Hybrid or not,
Merrick
is still Kindred. He won’t harm a female in his care.”

“She’s safe here on the Mother Ship,” Liv said, leaning against his solid, muscular frame and enjoying the warmth of his big body against hers. “So why is he still hanging around? Do you think he feels something for her? Maybe…could they be dream sharing or something like that, even with her in stasis?”

Baird shook his head. “I seriously doubt it,
Lilenta.
Hybrids aren’t usually able to form bonds with females—they tend to be loners.”

“What? Why not?” Even though she barely knew the huge, scarred warrior, Liv felt sad for him.

Baird shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe it’s the Goddess’s way of keeping them from overrunning the rest of the Kindred lines. An army of hybrids would be more destructive than the Scourge ever were.”

Liv imagined an army of seven foot tall Kindred warriors overcome with unstoppable, berserker rage and shuddered. “I guess you’re right. But if he can’t form a bond with Elise, I don’t understand why he’s hanging around.”

Baird shrugged again. “Maybe he feels responsible for her—he
is
the one who found her. Maybe he feels like he can’t go until he knows she’s well. Hybrid or not, he’s an honorable male or Sylvan wouldn’t think so highly of him.”

“You’re right about that,” Liv agreed. “But for whatever reason he’s staying, I wish he’d back off a little. He’s making the rest of the staff at the med station nervous.”

“Maybe if she had family to look after her he’d leave,” Baird suggested. “Does she have anyone on Earth looking for her?”

Liv frowned. “We didn’t think so at first but I got a call tonight from Detective
Barnes tonight—he used to be Rast’s partner back when they were on the police force together. He told me he’d located her mother and step father living in
Oregon
. Apparently Elise hasn’t spoken to them in years but her mother was still upset to hear what had happened to her. She asked to be notified the moment Elise woke up.”

“Hmm.” Baird frowned. “Most parents would have been rushing to get up to the Mother Ship, demanding to see their child right away.”

“I thought it was weird too,” Liv admitted. “But I guess they’re estranged for some reason—why else would Elise have moved across the country and stopped talking to them?” She stroked her belly protectively. “You don’t think that could ever happen between us and our little guy, do you, Baird?”

“Of course not,
Lilenta.”
He smiled and put his own hand over hers. “We’re going to love and protect our son and raise him to be a strong warrior. He’ll be the best of both of us.” He kissed her cheek. “But I hope he has your eyes.”

“Why?” Liv smiled and kissed him back. “Yours are much more striking. I still remember how I felt back when we were dream sharing and I saw you watching me with those molten gold eyes. It scared me to death but it excited me too.”

“All of you excites me,” Baird murmured. The sleepy look had left his eyes to be replaced by a glow of desire.
Pulling her close, he kissed her gently but firmly on the mouth. “I wanna taste you,” he growled softly, looking her in the eyes. “What do you say,
Lilenta?”