Shadowed: Brides of the Kindred book 8 (47 page)

“You mean when he first
kidnapped
you,” Liv pointed out. “Now
there’s
a good story to tell the kids when you have them.”

“No kidding.” Nina laughed. “I think we’ll tone it down just a little though. It might sound better to say Reddix ‘swept me off my feet’.”

“As opposed to saying he threw you over his shoulder like a caveman and dragged you screaming from your job in the middle of the night,” Kat said dryly.

“Well…yes.” Nina nodded, still smiling. “Speaking of my job, I have to go back to Earth tomorrow and give them my official notice.”

“So you’re really going to live on Tarsia with Reddix?” Maggie asked.

Nina nodded. “At least to start with. Reddix wants to be with Saber to support him in his new position as OverChief for at least the first year. After that, we might move back to the Mother Ship or even back to Earth.”

“And what does your grandmother think of that?” Lissa asked.

“She says I’m like a wind spirit—I have to be free to go wherever the breeze takes me,” Nina said. “But I’ve already promised to be home for Christmas so that’s okay.”

“Well, I’m sure you two are going to be very happy together,” Kat said. “And I for one—”

“Hi, girls, brought you a little treat.” Lauren bustled in carrying a tray piled high with cupcakes.

“Am hungry,” Kat finished, getting up at once to inspect the tray.

“Kat woman,” Liv objected. “Finish your thought. You can’t tell me that’s what you were about to say.”

“I have no idea what I was about to say,” Kat said, still eyeing the tray. “And I don’t care. Because, look—cupcakes.”

Sophia and Olivia started laughing.

“Being pregnant by Twin Kindred makes you crave sweets,” Lissa explained to Nina.

“Speaking of Twin Kindred,” Lauren said, frowning. “I just went to visit Becca Malone.”

“Becca Malone? Who’s that?” Kat frowned.

“The sweetest little thing you’d ever want to meet,” Lauren said. “She crashed your wedding by mistake—I guess she thought the reception was just a free buffet for visitors to the Mother Ship. Unfortunately, she got hold of a piece of the bonding fruit layer of the cake.”

“Oh, no!” Kat groaned. “What happened? Did she attack some poor unwilling man?”

“Hardly,” Lauren said. “She ate the cake and left the reception before we knew what was going on. Once she got out into the park area past the sacred grove, she started to feel the effects.”

“That’s terrible—she could have
died
.” Sophie’s eyes were wide.

“Yes, she could have because I let
someone
talk me into making that stupid cake in the first place.” Lauren put a hand on her hip and turned a stern gaze on Kat.

Kat shook her head. “Don’t look at me, doll. How was I to know I was ordering up the horny cake from hell? None of us knew that cooking the bonding fruit would intensify it so much. So what happened to the girl?”

“Luckily,
Becca was…ahem…
rescued
by a pair of unmated Twin Kindred who just happened to be visiting from Twin Moons, touring the Mother Ship.”

“Whew…” Olivia mimed wiping sweat from her brow. “Disaster averted.”

“Not quite.” Lauren frowned. “You see, Becca was a novice at a convent in Sarasota, Florida. The Servants of the Pierced Hearts.”

“Oh my God—she was a
nun?”
Sophie gasped.

“Not quite but she was about to take her vows to become one.” Lauren shook her head. “Now the poor girl is all mixed up and confused. She didn’t actually bond with the Twin Kindred—they held back from that since none of them knew each other from Adam when they found her in the park. But she did get a little more frisky that your average nun is supposed to get.”

“I thought your average nun wasn’t supposed to frisky at all,” Kat said dryly.

“Exactly.” Lauren sighed. “She’s still not sure what to do, and I didn’t know what to tell her.”

“I’d say tell her nuns don’t get much nookie,” Kat murmured, licking chocolate frosting from her fingers. “That would be the end of that argument right there for me.”

“Kat, it’s
not funny,”
Lauren said severely. “And what’s more, I told Becca
you
would come and talk to her. After all, you’re bonded to Deep and Lock—maybe you can give her some perspective on it.”

“You’re right,” Kat said, sobering. “I’m sorry, Lauren. I know you feel responsible because of making the cake. I never should have asked for it in the first place.”

Maggie stood up suddenly on wobbly legs. “It’s not your fault, Lauren—or yours either, Kat,” she said in a shaky voice. “It’s
mine.
I mixed up the signs on the layers.”

“Oh come on now, Maggie,” Nina objected. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. After all, those two cake layers looked an awful lot alike. How could you know?”

Maggie shook her head. “Don’t try to excuse it or make it sound like a harmless mistake, Nina. I made a mess just like I always do.”

“Maggie—” Nina started.

“It’s true!” Maggie shoved her honey-blonde curls off her forehead and pulled off her thick glasses to clean them on her blouse. “It’s a good thing I’m leaving tomorrow for a deserted planet no one has ever been to before,” she muttered, polishing her glasses with quick, savage movements. “There won’t be anyone’s life there for me to ruin.”

“Oh, hon…” Olivia got up and put an arm around the other girl’s shoulders. “Come on now, everyone makes mistakes now and then.”

“Not me.” Maggie sniffed and swiped at her eyes. “I make them
all
the time. Honestly, it’s no wonder my fiancé, Kurt, gets so irritated with me. He always says I’m an accident waiting to happen.”

“Sounds like a real charmer,” Kat said dryly. “Bet you’re not going to miss hearing
that
on Planet X or wherever it is you’re going.”

“It’s Gaia—they’re calling it Gaia.” Maggie sighed. “Of course, we have to stop off on Yonnie Six first, but that should only take a day or two, and then we’re off to the unknown.”

“Wait a minute…” Lissa sat forward suddenly, looking anxious. “Did you say Yonnie Six?”

“Yes—we have to deliver some kind of collar or something.” Maggie shrugged. “I’ll probably just stay in the ship and let Ferna and Ratner—the two Kindred scientists I’ll be with—handle it.”

“You be sure you do that,” Lissa said, frowning. “Yonnie Six is a dangerous place. And the people there…” She shook her head and shivered. “Let’s just say you’re safer in the ship.”

“Oh…okay.” Maggie’s big brown eyes were wide behind her glasses. “Thanks for the warning.”

“You’re welcome.” Lissa still looked troubled. “I just want you to be safe. You’re a very sweet girl, but you do seem to be a little bit…accident prone.”

“You mean clumsy.” Maggie sighed. “I swear I do better when I’m not nervous. It’s just that I usually
am
nervous. Unless I’m doing research—then I get into the zone, and I’m almost a normal person. Almost.”

“You’re fine, and everything is going to be okay,” Nina assured her though she couldn’t suppress a shiver of unease when she thought of the accident prone Maggie anywhere near a life threatening situation. “Just stay in the ship like Lissa said and don’t get off it until you get to Gaia.”

“Right.” Maggie sighed. “I really
am
excited about going, you know. But first I think I should go with Kat and apologize to that poor Becca girl.”

“If it’ll make you feel better,” Kat said quietly. “Though I still don’t think you’re to blame.”

“Thanks, Kat.” Maggie smiled at her gratefully. “Should we go now?”

Kat sighed. “Just let me finish my cupcake, doll. It would be a shame to let any of Lauren’s baking go to waste. Just because it doesn’t make me horny out of my mind doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste freaking delicious.”

Lauren laughed. “Okay, Kat—you know what flattery will get you.”

“Another cupcake for the road?” Kat asked hopefully. “Because honestly, Lauren, the twins are begging for more.” She patted her belly which was just barely beginning to show.

Lauren answered something, but just at that moment, Nina got the feeling that someone was trying to speak to her.

“Yes, baby?”
she sent, opening herself to the communication. The mental link between herself and Reddix was still so new she hadn’t quiet gotten used to it yet, but it gave her a little thrill every time she heard his deep, harsh voice speaking inside her head.

“Just wanted to know how much longer you’re going to be ‘out with the girls’ sweetheart,”
he sent back to her.
“I’m beginning to miss you so much I can’t fucking stand it.”

Nina stifled a chuckle.
“It’s only been a few hours since the last time we made love. Going into withdrawal already?”

“Absolutely. I can’t get enough of you, sweetheart. Come back to the suite soon, okay?”

“I promise I will. I think things are about to break up here anyway. Do you want me to bring you a cupcake?”

“I don’t care what you bring as long as you bring yourself,”
he growled softly through their link.
“Love you, Nina.”

“I love you too—I’ll be there soon.”

She broke the link just in time to hear everyone wishing Maggie a safe trip the next day. Nina went to wish her new friend well too.

“You’re going to do fine,” she murmured, hugging the shorter girl. “Just be careful and stay in the ship on Yonnie Six like Lissa said.”

“Of course.” Maggie smiled and hugged her back. “And don’t worry about me—I’ll be living a safe and boring life collecting specimens for the next six months.”

“And writing papers about everything you find, too.” Nina smiled.

“Exactly. I’ll be in nerd heaven, but I’m afraid it won’t be very exciting,” Maggie said grinning back.

“That’s okay. Exciting isn’t always safe,” Nina told her. “And that’s the main thing—to stay safe.”

“I will, I promise,” Maggie said.

“I’m sure you will,” Nina said, letting the other girl go. But she couldn’t help the twinge of unease she felt or the strange presentiment that Maggie’s life wasn’t going to be nearly as dull and danger-free as she anticipated.

Don’t be silly,
she scolded herself as she waved at Maggie one last time and turned to leave the party.
She’s going to be just fine…isn’t she?

Epilogue

Somewhere in a shack in the middle of the Great Tarsian Swamp, Xandra the swamp witch was brewing a new potion. The pale green waters danced in her cauldron, bubbling and frothing as she muttered and stirred the mixture with one long, white finger.

Suddenly, the surface of the potion grew still and went as glassy as a lake on a calm day. Xandra stared into the pot, unflinching, as a pair of burning red eyes appeared to rise to the surface and stare at her.

“All is well?”
rumbled a voice from the depths. A voice so deep and distorted it was difficult to understand. Xandra, however, seemed to have no problem comprehending.

“All is well, husband,”
she answered, staring into the burning red eyes. “Reddix is healed and the prophesy is set in motion. Soon our son will be set free. And then the vengeance he shall take, the destruction he will wreak against the Touch Kindred and all their Brothers…truly it will be a work of art.”

“I told you I took him from you for a purpose,”
the deep, inhuman voice said.

Xandra scowled. “As to that, I still have not forgiven you.”

“There are many you bear a grudge against. Ask yourself who you wish vengeance on the most.”
The blazing eyes blinked and then flickered, beginning to fade.
“And then ask yourself who will be first to taste your wrath…”

“Oh, they will taste it, all right,” Xandra promised even as the red eyes faded away, leaving the pale green potion to bubble normally again. “Each and every one of them will have more than they can stomach when I am through.” She stirred the pot again. “Hurry, Therron. Hurry my son. Come home and bring my vengeance with you… Come home and kill them all!”

The End

Brides of the Kindred Glossary

AllFather
—the evil head of the Scourge, a race that are the byproduct of a failed genetic trade. The AllFather is one of the Old Ones and has the power to reach into a person’s mind to harvest emotional pain and trauma. He lives for the fulfillment of the Scourge Prophesy.

Ancient Ones—
beings which live in the Deep Blue—the darkest and most inaccessible part of the Rageron jungles. They are sentient but not related in any way to the Kindred. Each Ancient One has two forms—a bipedal form which resembles a human or Kindred and a beast form which can be deadly and they can change between forms at will. The Ancient Ones predate even the First Kindred and revere the
skrillix
plant, which they guard jealously.

Bespeak
—to contact someone mentally using a Think-me device. It is considered rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately.

Beast/Rager Kindred
—come from Rageron—a jungle planet full of beautiful but deadly flora and fauna. They have dark hair, golden eyes, and hot tempers but their most defining characteristic is the mating fist. The mating fist is an area at the base of the Beast Kindred’s shaft which engages fully only during bonding sex with his chosen mate. When engorged it swells to keep the Beast Kindred and his bride locked together until she is completely bonded to him. This ensures sex that is both extremely long lasting and multiorgasmic for both partners.

Blackness between the Stars—
another name for the Hoard or
Grimlax,
an ancient enemy of the Kindred. These beings have no souls and so are considered demonic by the Kindred.

Blood Fever—
a condition suffered by unmated females on Tranq Prime, the home world of the Blood Kindred. Blood Fever or Burning Blood as it is often called, is caused by a parasite living on the icy world that affects only women. The parasite—found in the
fleeta
or blood beetle—reacts with a compound in the Tranq Prime water supply to cause the fever. Symptoms include chills, increased sexual need and the feeling of the blood heating in the veins as well as increased coloration of the nipples and sex. If the fever is not treated in forty-eight hours, it will result in death.