Enslaved (Brides of the Kindred Book 14) (43 page)

Thrace
frowned. “Are you saying you
want
to
die?”

“Look
at me.” Two nodded his head, indicating the rotten patches in his brain. “Once
I thought I’d live forever.” He sighed deeply. “Ah, but alas, I am not the same
since I received the burst of power which killed my friend. The ache in my
brain is more than I can bear…yet I cannot end myself. Why else would I pursue
my own death and be certain that you would hate me enough to kill me?”

Thrace
stared
at him blankly. “And you think
I’m
the
one who’s going to do you in?”

“So it was foretold,” Two said. “Listen…

No Kindred shall kill you

Though
you spill rivers of their blood

The
one who is your doom

Comes
from desert and from flood.

A
free-born male

Too
proud to bend his knee

Enslaved
of his own will

Against
his will set free.” He nodded at Thrace. “That’s
you,
Havoc! Don’t you see? Well—don’t
you?”

Trin and Thrace
exchanged a glance.

“I
don’t know what in the Seven Hells you’re talking about and I don’t fucking
care,” Thrace
growled. “My mistress says drink so you’re going to
drink.”

He
forced the first mouthful past Two’s metal teeth while Trin held the blaster
centered on him.

“Swallow,”
she directed Two. “Try to spit it out and I’ll shoot you someplace extremely
painful but not remotely fatal.”

He
swallowed, his knot of an Adam’s apple bobbing in his scrawny throat. Almost at
once he began to shiver.

“C-cold,”
he gasped, his teeth chattering with a strange, metallic echo.

“Well,
well—looks like this wine of his works almost immediately,” Thrace
remarked. “Must be the special strain of berries he developed for it.”

“Good.
Give him the second drink. See how he likes burning up,” Trin said ruthlessly.

Thrace
forced
a second swallow into Two’s mouth. He was jabbering and babbling now, spouting
more words of “prophesy” and boasting about his plans for the future. Not one
word in ten got through to Trin. She was too busy watching him through cold,
dispassionate eyes and planning her next move.

“The
third drink,” she ordered Thrace
after Two began to sweat and tug at his black coat, complaining of the heat.
“Give him the third drink.”

Thrace
looked
again like he might protest but then he only shrugged.

“As
my lady wishes.”

Two
fought and struggled but he was no match for the huge Havoc. As Trin watched
dispassionately, Thrace
forced the third drink of passion berry wine past the other male’s thin,
liver-colored lips. Then he clamped one broad palm over Two’s mouth and nose
until, with a convulsive swallow, the wine went down Two’s skinny throat.

“Ahhh!”
Two’s eyes rolled back in his head and he shivered all over, his skeletal frame
quivering with what Trin hoped was unbearable pain.

Good,
she thought.
Let him suffer. I hope it hurts—hurts a hell
of a lot.
Because whatever he was feeling, was nothing to what he had
condemned her to endure.

And
Trin knew she would have to endure it alone.

“Now
what, Mistress?” Thrace
asked, breaking her morbid train of thought. He looked down at the writhing,
twitching heap that was Two. “Are you finally ready for me to shoot him?”

“No.”
Trin frowned. “Bring him and come with me.”

She
led the way out of the control area and down the metal corridor leaving the
rest of her crew standing there stunned behind her. Thrace hooked one hand under the
back collar of Two’s black coat and dragged him like a reluctant pet after her.
When they got to the exit for the nearest life pod, Trin stopped and he did as
well.

“Now
what?” he asked again, frowning. “You want to shoot him and flush his body out
the airlock? It would serve the bastard right.”

“No.”
Trin was still feeling cold and dispassionate—removed from the situation. It
was like she was standing outside of herself, watching this scene as an
observer. “No, I want him to suffer. The way he made me suffer.”

“You’re
not just talking about the pain and need you felt after he made you take the
third drink are you?” Thrace
murmured. “I know what you must have felt, having your mother see us like
that—”

“How
could you know?” Trin demanded. “You have no mother—you never did.”

“No,
but I had a Sire and I valued his good opinion greatly—beyond anything else,” Thrace
said quietly. “I’m just trying to say that I’m sorry for your pain and
humiliation.”

Trin
waved a hand. “That’s nothing compared to what—” She stopped abruptly but Thrace
stared at her sharply.

“Nothing
compared to what?” he demanded and she could
feel
him trying to find the answer in her thoughts through the
strange new link they’d somehow forged while making love.

“Stop
it!” She put a hand to her forehead as though to keep him out. “Don’t do that!
Stay out of my mind!”

“Sorry.”
He had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m just worried about you. I won’t do it
again.”

“You’d
better not.” Trin shook her head. “Look, let’s dispose of this piece of waste
and then we can talk. Out loud—
not
in
our heads.”

Her
offer to talk later seemed to placate the big Havoc somewhat.

“All
right,” he growled. “Well that’s what I’ve been asking you—how do you want to
dispose of him?”

Trin
pretended to consider but what she was really doing was imagining a wall—a
huge, thick, tall wall to guard her mind from Thrace’s probing. She had no idea
if the mental barrier she was picturing would keep him out or not but she hoped
so—she couldn’t have him eavesdropping on her now. Not with what she was
planning.

“I
want you to take him down to the planet—to Yonnie Six,” she said at last,
handing Thrace
the blaster which he took automatically and tucked into his belt. “Deliver him
to Lord X with my compliments. They seem to be in league with each other
somehow—let X take care of Two.”

“What?
No…
no!”
Two howled. “I told you, I
cannot end myself! I
cannot.”

“Nobody’s
asking you to, you piece of slime.” Thrace shook him briefly. “Be
silent.”

But
Two continued to howl and contort, continuing to insist that Thrace was meant to be his “doom.”
Trin didn’t mind—all of the crying and carrying on Two was doing was obviously
distracting Thrace
too much to try using their new link.

“Just
take him,” she said, gesturing at the door to the life pod. “Get him out of
here. See how well Lady Tam-tam likes having Lord X as a guest when he’s got a
moaning, crying wretch of a male to deal with.”

Thrace
nodded,
a corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Sounds
like justice to me. I’ll take him down to X and come directly back.”

“You
do that.” Trin nodded and smiled, hoping the expression didn’t look fake.
“I…I’ll see you when you get back.”

“All
right.” Thrace
opened the life pod door and pushed the moaning Two into it. He was about to
climb in himself but then he turned back, studying Trin with a frown on his
face. “Are you
sure
you’re okay,
baby?” he asked in a low voice.

“No,”
Trin said truthfully. “But I’ll manage.”

Thrace
sighed.
“I know what happened was bad and I know things aren’t resolved between us…” He
reached out a hand to cup her cheek but Trin evaded it just as Two voiced a
particularly loud howl.

“And
they won’t be until you get rid of that piece of trash,” she said, nodding at
the open door to the life pod. “Drop him off with Lord X and then we can talk.”

The
big Havoc hesitated, as though he wanted to protest or say something else. But
Two howled again and he only nodded his head.

“All
right, Mistress. As you command, so shall it be done.”

Trin
didn’t miss his formal speech or the implications it carried. He was doing this
for her as a slave but the other part of him—the male who had claimed her heart
and body—wanted to stay and talk.

There’s nothing to talk about. Not
anymore,
she thought and was glad for the layer of ice which seemed to
have formed around her emotions. It was the only thing that made what she had
to do bearable.

“Goodbye,
Thrace,”
she said aloud. “I’ll see you…later. When you get back.”

“All
right.” But he still didn’t go. Instead he leaned down and kissed her—just
letting his mouth brush hers. A feather-light touch that sent a shiver through
her entire body.

“Oh…”
Trin whispered. “Thrace,
I—”

He
pulled back and looked into her eyes.

“You
own
me,” he murmured. Then, at last
he turned and left, shutting the door of the life pod behind him and cutting
off Two’s anguished cries abruptly.

Trin
watched until the life pod left the ship’s side, disappearing to a tiny silver
dot in the small round airlock window. Then she bowed her head.

It
was done—Thrace
was gone.

Chapter
Thirty-one

“What’s
this?” The slave tending to the shuttle parking area looked truly startled when
Thrace
climbed out of the pod, dragging the writhing, crying Two behind him.

“This
is payback,” Thrace
growled at him. “Now go get Lord X for me and make it quick. Bring him here at
once.”

“Bring
him here? But he’s an important visitor—Lady Tam-tam’s special guest. I can’t
just demand he drop everything and come out to the landing field!”

“You
can and you will.” Thrace
gave the attendant a menacing stare. “Just tell him his old friend Two is here
to see him. I’m sure he’ll come right away.”

“I…but
I…”

“Go!”
Thrace
roared and at last the attendant stopped dithering and raced away to get X.
“Now shut up,” he added, nudging Two none too gently with his boot. The
constant screaming, howling, and crying had gotten on his nerves on the way
down to the planet’s surface.

But
instead of shutting up, Two began to cackle madly—a shrill, high-pitched noise
which was at least as bad as his screams of pain had been.

“It’s
too late,” he babbled, writhing on the ground. “Too late for her! A member of
the
Verrak
has already been engaged.
She has a target on her back—she’s as good as dead!”

Thrace
felt a
cold chill wash over him. He knew a little of the
Verrak
and everything he knew was bad—
very
bad.

“What?
What the fuck are you talking about?” He grabbed Two by the black leather
lapels of his strange coat and dragged him up to stare into his pale face. The
stench of rot hung around him strongly, making Thrace’s stomach turn but he held
him just the same. “What about the
Verrak?”
he demanded.

“They
kill—kill without mercy. I took out the contract days ago—she’s as good as dead
already,” Two babbled, his single eye filled with a mad, gleaming light.

“You
took out a contract on Trin?” Thrace
shook him so hard his metal teeth clicked together. “Answer me, scum!”

“Not
your precious Trin.” Two was giggling again, a sound that grated on Thrace’s
nerves. “She’s already taken care of—both of you are. It was as B’Rugh Saw—the
easiest way to pull you apart was to push you together.”

“You
did that all right,” Thrace
growled. “But if you’re not talking about Trin, then who did you put a contract
on?”

“Her!
The mother of the new race! She has two faces and lives on the planet the
Kindred guard—her child is the answer to their future! But I’ve taken care of
that—there will be no future now. No child and no future. Only death!”

“What?
Two faces?” Thrace
shook his head in disgust. “You’re insane. I think the passion berry wine is
affecting what little brain you have left.”

“Ah,
but I was much saner before the rot spread—much saner when I asked B’Rugh to
See for me.” Two smiled craftily.

Thrace
began
to get an uneasy feeling in his gut. He knew that B’Rugh’s people had
clairvoyant abilities. They had far reaching second sight but they could use it
only three times in their lifetime before the ability left them. Luckily they were
a greedy people and mostly used their abilities to further their own ambitions
or to forestall their own deaths. But it sounded like Two had somehow convinced
his old boss to See for a much greater and more destructive purpose.

“What
are you talking about?” he demanded, shaking Two again. “What did you ask him
to See for you?”

“Why,
I asked him how to destroy the people who had destroyed
my
people—I asked him how to destroy the Kindred.” Two’s spit-shiny
metal teeth gleamed in the weak Yonnie Six sun. “And he told me, too. Imagine
my surprise when
your
name came up,
my dear Havoc. And your Mistress’s as well.”

“What
do you mean? I’m only distantly related to the Kindred—and what could Trin have
to do with them?”

“I’ll
tell you…” Two’s narrow face took on a crafty expression. “I’ll
show
all that B’Rugh Saw—as long as you
promise to kill me and put me out of this never ending
misery.”

“I’ll
think about it,” Thrace
said shortly. “Now tell me what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“B’Rugh
Saw that you, my dear Havoc, will be the father of a great nation—or your son
will. Or
would
have, had I not torn
you and the Lady Trin apart by pushing you together.” Two pulled a mournful
face. “Who knew tender lovemaking could be the death knell of such a promising
relationship?”

“Keep
your fucking mouth shut about things you don’t understand,” Thrace growled.

“Oh,
but I
do
understand, my dear Havoc! I
understand you’ve been duped into taking me here—duped into leaving the ship.
And let me ask you, do you think
The
Alacrity
is still going to be there when you turn around to go back?”

Thrace
felt a
cold finger of dread caress his spine but he pushed his doubt aside.

“Of
course it’s going to be there. Trin’s just waiting for me to report that I
dropped you off to your
friend.”

“Not
friend—scion,” Two corrected. “X
is
me
for all intents and purposes. He has my thoughts, my memories, and best of all,
my
intentions.
I made sure of that
when I grew him in the tanks back on my home world.”

“What—you
cloned
yourself?” Thrace frowned. He had heard of
such things—in fact, some planets in the universe were notorious for illegal
cloning. But he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting a clone of the hideous Two.

“Not
cloned
exactly. My appearance while
perfectly normal for my own world is somewhat…outside the norm of other
inhabited planets.” Two smiled widely, his teeth gleaming. “Accordingly I chose
a different model to inject my thoughts and memories into. X is everything I am
not on the outside—and everything I
am
on
the inside. He will carry on my work when I am gone.” He turned suddenly
serious. “But he cannot kill me. I told you, I cannot end myself—and
he
is
me
. Which presents a dilemma.”

“Not
for me.” Looking up, Thrace
saw the broad figure of Lord X coming over the grass of the landing field,
followed closely by the slave attendant who was scampering to keep up with his
long strides. “Looks like your clone or scion or whatever you want to call it
is here.”

“So
he is.” Two nodded at the approaching X. “Help me, my scion!”

Without
a word, X bent down and grasped the heavy manacles that were clamped around
Two’s skinny wrists.

“Good
luck with that,” Thrace
said. “Those fucking things are made to hold a Gox. I should know, I wore them
for days before I finally—” But the words died in his throat as X snapped the
manacles as neatly as if they’d been made of stale bread.

“You
were saying, slave?” he murmured, giving Thrace a disdainful look.

“What
the hell?” Thrace
frowned. “Those fucking things are indestructible.”

“Not
for X.” Two grinned. “Did I mention that I endowed him with super strength as
well as a host of other qualities? I find it comes in handy—as it did just
now.”

“You—”
Thrace
began but suddenly Two was up off the ground and reaching for him.

Thrace
thought
he was reaching for the blaster in his belt but before he could jump away, Two
had grabbed him. Not the blaster though—he grabbed Thrace
by the arm, his skinny fingertips digging painfully deep as he stared into Thrace’s
eyes.

“I
told you I would show you,” he hissed, his hot breath a rancid gust against Thrace’s
cheek. “See now…See for yourself…”

Suddenly
the landing field and all of Yonnie Six was swept away. Thrace blinked and saw that he was
someplace new—a small blue and green planet with swirls of white in its
atmosphere. He rushed downward and found himself staring at a low, sprawling
one story structure which seemed to be made of many interconnecting halls. There
was lettering at the end of one hallway but he couldn’t quite make it out—it
was in a foreign tongue he didn’t know.

Walking
down one of the echoing halls, which were painted a flat, industrial green, was
a young woman with dull blondish-brown hair and pale, washed-out looking blue
eyes. She had plain, non-descript features that would be easily forgotten and a
full, plump figure that was covered in loose, baggy clothing.

She
was completely nondescript and yet, when she turned her head Thrace thought he
saw something—a flash of some other color in her eyes—a burning light that made
him draw a harsh breath. Her hair changed too—seeming to flicker from its plain
dishwater blonde to a glossy blue-black. Then she turned away and the changes
were gone so quickly Thrace
was sure he must have imagined them.

The
plain young woman was surrounded by children—young ones that looked to be no
more than six or seven cycles old to Thrace. Not much older than the age
he had been when his Sire had come to claim him. Was she a teacher or a care
giver of some kind? They were clamoring around her but when she raised her
hands for silence, they obeyed at once.

“All
right now, class.” In contrast to her plain outer appearance, she had a lovely,
rich alto voice so melodious it sent chills down Thrace’s spine. “Let’s all get in
line—you know your places.”

“Yes,
Ms. Brooks,” the younglings chorused and formed at once into an orderly line as
Thrace
watched. Then he became aware that he was not alone.

“Behold,”
he heard Two breathe in his ear. “She of two faces—the Mother of the new
race—the race where Havoc and Kindred blood will meet and merge once more. The
race that will
never be!”

“What
in the Seven Hells are you talking about?” Thrace demanded. Then he saw
something else. At the far end of the hallway was a male with long, black hair wearing
some kind of dark ocular devices which hid his eyes. When he turned, though, Thrace
caught a glimpse behind them of pure, molten gold.
Verrak,
he thought and a shiver went through him.

“He’s
watching her—watching and soon he will do more than watch. Soon she will be
dead. And with her will die all their hopes and dreams—with her will die their
future!” Two cackled madly in his ear, breaking the weird spell.

Suddenly
Thrace
found himself rushing outward, leaving the small blue and green planet. He
blinked and found he was back on Yonnie Six with Two’s skeletal hand gripping
his forearm. With a disgusted grunt, he shook the other male off and took a
step back, his hand going to his blaster.

“Get
back,” he ordered when Two started to come after him. “I don’t know how in the
Seven Hells you did that and I don’t care. I’ve done as Trin asked and delivered
you to X. Now I’m going back and I hope to all the Gods never to see your disgusting
face again.”

“No!”
Two howled, thin fists curling at his sides. “No, you cannot leave me like
this! You’re supposed to
kill me!
You
are supposed to be my doom! And you promised—you promised! I showed you
everything as I said I would—
you
promised!”

Thrace
hesitated, his foot on the steps of the life pod.

“I
said I’d
think
about it and I have. I
choose not to kill you.”

“But
you
have
to,” Two wailed. He was
crawling on his hands and knees now, groveling and writhing on the grass like
an animal in distress. Lord X followed after him with a helpless look on his
face as though he didn’t know what to do.

“No,
I don’t. You said I was supposed to be your doom, not your killer,” Thrace
pointed out. “What could be a worse doom than to be stuck here with only your
clone for company while you die a slow, agonizing death? The same death you
wanted for Trin.”

“I
knew you wouldn’t let her die!” Two protested. “Have mercy, Thrace—I’m in
agony.”
He curled in on himself and
clutched his thin sides. “I could bear it if it was just the brain rot but you
know how the passion berry wine works—the pain is intense and the only cure is
penetration and insemination.”

“That
should be no problem.” Thrace
laughed harshly. “You’ve got your scion with you, don’t you?”

Two’s
face went very still. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m
saying you should go fuck yourself—literally.”

Turning
a deaf ear to Two’s protests and howls of pain, Thrace turned and slipped back into
the life pod, closing the door behind him.

It
was time to get back to what really mattered. Time to get back to Trin.

* * * * *

Trin
had already moved
The Alacrity
some
distance from its original orbit around Yonnie Six but they weren’t quite out of
range yet. So she had to take the incoming call when Thrace hailed the ship from his
life pod.

“Where
are you?” he asked at once when his image popped up on her viewscreen.