He took leave of her then. In but a half hora's time, Karic had raised a small search party and headed out of the valley. The going was slow in the rapidly waning light, and Karic cursed the uneven terrain that necessitated such careful traverse. The only blessing was there was little danger from the Guide in the darkness, for Necator and his men would see poorly and not easily detect their approach. If his father and the other hunters were out there, Karic knew he'd discover them long before the Bellatorians even suspected the search party's presence.
In the end, they found neither the hunting party nor the Bellatorians. The spoor of both, however, comingled in a deep ravine several horas journey back across the mountains. The evidence was clear. His father and men had been captured and most likely taken back to Primasedes.
Karic steeled his heart, locking his pain and fear behind a wall of rock-hard resolve. The high emotions of a Cat Man were more hindrance than help at a time like this. Vengeance was all he wanted, nothing more, and to gain this vengeance, to save his father and men, Karic must once again think like a Bellatorian.
''Take me with you, Karic!" Liane pleaded as she watched him fill his backpack with provisions a few horas later. It was near solrise but still dark outside. "I can be of help once you reach Primasedes."
"No."
Cold finality rimed Karic's words, as glacial as the icy resolve in his eyes.
She swallowed hard against the rising fear that he was shutting her out, not only from her assistance but also from his heart. Liane had never seen him like thisso emotionless, so mechanically disciplined, so committed to a course of action that he neither saw nor concerned himself with anyone or thing beyond it. It almost reminded her of that nocte of the triple moons, when Karic had been so singlemindedly if mindlessly committed to raping her. Only now he knew exactly what he was doing.
The realization was of little comfort. The dangers he faced were horrible. If she let him go without her he might well die in the effort. The thought of him, bleeding his life out on some cobbled street in Primasedes and her too far away to help, was more than Liane could bear.
Karic needed her, whether he had the sense to realize it just now.
She
was the one who knew Primasedes and the intricacies of the palace like the back of her hand. Of all of them, she was the only one who could pass through the alarm system without setting it off as an intruder. And one way or another, Liane was determined to pound that fact home.
She grasped Karic's arm, pulling him around to face her. Anger briefly flared in his eyes, then was purposely snuffed.
"Liane," he warned in a low, ominous voice, "I don't have time"
"You'll hear me out," she insisted. "You'll listen to reason for, if you don't, you'll condemn to death not only your father and his men, but you and your men as well. And you won't do that, will you, Karic? There's too much Bellatorian in you for that."
He wrenched her hand from him and turned, his shoulders taut with pain. "Now, of all times, I don't need to be reminded of that, though I'm forced to use that part of me to save my father," he answered. "And most especially not from you!"
"There is good as well as bad in being Bellatorian," Liane softly replied. "There must be, or you wouldn't have loved your mother or come to love me like you do. And as ruthless as Bellator was in its takeover of Agrica, there was much thought, much careful planning that went into it, too. I only appeal to that part of the Bellatorian in you, Karic. Ask you to accept the useful aspects of that heritage. Will you please stop for a moment, put aside your high emotions, and listen?"
For an instant, Liane feared he'd push her aside and go back to his packing. Then Karic's rigid form relaxed. He slowly turned.
Dark, intense eyes gazed down at her. "Speak," he hoarsely commanded. "Tell me your plan and quickly. We leave in' one hora's time."
A lump rose in Liane's throat at the sight of him standing there, a tall, powerful young warrior and prince of his people, weighted now with the sole responsibility for their continued survival. Yet, as heavy a burden as it was, Karic could no more turn from it than cease to breathe. In that piercingly poignant moment, Liane suddenly knew it could be no other waynot for him or for her.
They were joined in this cause. It had drawn them, one to the other, from the beginning. Indeed, their love had blossomed from the fertile soil of its higher purpose, and now, at long last, it was time to reap its fruits.
"I know the city," she quietly began. "I know its thoroughfares, the quickest routes to the palace. I know where all the labs are, the most likely places where Necator may be holding your father and men. I know where the master controls for the alarm system are. And, most of all, as a full-blooded Bellatorian, I can enter Primasedes without setting off those alarms."
He studied her for long secundae, considering her words. Then Karic wearily sighed. "We've got to travel hard and fast. It'll be impossible for you to keep up."
"I'll do it. I have to." Liane struggled to keep the relief from her voice. "And you know I won't complain, no matter how hard you push on."
A wry grin twisted Karic's lips. "No, you never did complain or shy from any challenge. I well remember that, sweet femina. Your courage and dedication to our cause has never been the issue, and because I need your knowledge of Primasedes, I'll accept your presence among us. But hear me when I say"
"We'll talk of our plans later," she quickly interrupted, "but whatever they are, I must go with you. There is no other option. If we fail, it is only a matter of time before Necator finds this lair, and you know as well as I what will happen then." "No," he grimly corrected her, "you don't know, unless you've seen the Guide."
Liane's brow furrowed. "The Guide? What is it?"
"A machine and Necator's secret weapon. I assume you weren't involved in its creation then?"
She shook her head. "I worked only with my psychic skills on humanoids, not machines. I know nothing of any Guide. Tell me of it, Karic."
"It's a form of mental reprograming," he replied as he resumed his packing, explaining the full extent of the machine's horrible powers. "Our mission to Primasedes, therefore, is twofold," Karic finally concluded. "Rescuing my father and men is not the end of it. We fail just as fully if we don't succeed in destroying that weapon. People,
your
people, must die in the undertaking. Can you turn against them to that extent? Perhaps even kill in the process of helping us?"
Her lips trembled, but Liane refused to flinch from his steady gaze. "I don't want to kill. It goes against everything I was raised to revere, but my Sententian existence is over. You are my life now, Karic, and I'll do what I musteven killto protect what we have."
Karic smiled tenderly. "Many were the times I despaired of ever hearing those words from you." He stroked the curve of her cheek, gently lingering at the sweet line of her mouth. "I only hope now that I've finally won your heart that our happiness is not short-lived."
The going was arduous, their pace fast and furious. Karic, true to his word, drove his men hard. Liane managed to keep up for half the first sol, as the mountainous terrain forced a slower pace, but as the sol wore on and Karic continued to relentlessly drive the party onward, Liane's strength began to fade. As the sun set behind them, she began to stumble from sheer exhaustion.
"We need to travel through the nocte," Karic explained as he ignored her half-hearted protests and swung her up into his arms. "We'll be on the plains by solrise and forced to take shelter. It'll be our last chance to rest, so I want to make as much distance as we can before then. Once we cross the plains and reach the forest, we'll not stop until we reach Primasedes. So sleep. It's mostly downhill from now on, and your weight is no burden to me."
"I just wanted to go on a little further," Liane wearily murmured as she snuggled into the furry comfort of Karic's chest. "I didn't want to shame you in front of the others."
"Fear not, sweet femina," Karic whispered into the fragrant tumble of her hair. "For the past several horas my men have been shooting me angry looks for allowing you to push yourself so hard. You've more than impressed them."
"Then I won't feel so guilty," she contentedly sighed, "if I enjoy being held by you." Her lids lowered, and she was soon fast asleep.
She slumbered until midnocte and was surprised to discover they'd made it down the mountains and onto the farming plains. By solrise, they'd reached the small, forested area with the spring. It was too light to travel further without danger of detection. After a spartan breakfast, Liane volunteered to stand guard while the men slept. About midsol Karic woke, insisting she take more rest. Liane found it surprisingly easy to fall back asleep.
Karic shook her awake a little past dusk. "Here, eat this," he said, handing her some journey bread and dried meat sticks. "We head out again in a half hora."
Liane sat up and accepted the food. "I cannot believe I slept so long."
He smiled. "There was some talk about letting you sleep and waking you when we returned from Primasedes."
"You males are all alike," Liane softly chuckled. "So totally convinced of your mighty prowess over us females."
Karic leaned forward, until he was a warm breath away. "And you ferninas are all alike," he rumbled. "So conveniently short of memory when the situation calls for it. But there's ample privacy over by the spring. If there were time, I'd take you there and refresh your fading memories."
A sensual thrill skittered down Liane's spine at the suggestive growl in Karic's voice. For a secundae, she allowed herself to imagine how it would be, lying naked with him at the spring, locked in a heated embrace. His mouth would move voraciously against her throat and down to her breasts to nip and kiss her. Then he'd grab her hips and lift her up to him, swiftly, deeply burying his throbbing shaft. Oh, but it would be so good . . . !
"I see I've made my point," Karic drawled, interrupting her heated reverie. His hand moved in the darkness to stroke her hair. "Now eat, sweet femina, and save those memories for another time."
Her lips grazed his calloused palm in a loving kiss. "Yes, they can waitfor a time," she throatily murmured. "But only for a time."
Karic climbed to his feet. "Then let us hurry and get this unpleasant quest accomplished. Until my father and his men are safe . . ." He dragged in an uneven breath and looked nonplussed. "Eat, Liane. I must speak with my men."
He strode away. She smiled to herself, a soft, knowing, woman's smile. It was so good to learn that she still excited him. She had thought, in her maiden's innocence, that a male quickly sated himself and lost interest, but that was definitely not the case with Karic. His ardor for her hadn't dimmed in the least. If anything, it seemed that a few words, like just now, were enough to stir him to full arousal. Just a few words were necessary to stir her as well.
Liane bit into her dried meatstick. Karic was right, though. Their personal needs were secondary to the rescue of Morigan and his men and the destruction of Necator and the Guide. She quickly finished her meal and had just enough time to wash her face before all rose to leave.
They journeyed for the next several horas before Karic called a halt, a short distance from Devra's village and the edge of the great forest.
Liane moved to his side. An eerie silence, even for a sleeping village, hung over the land. "There's something wrong here," she whispered.
"Yes," Karic softly muttered, "there is. I neither sense nor smell anyone about."
He turned to his men. "Stay here with Liane. I'll go ahead and scout the village. It may be a trap. If anything happens, don't attempt to rescue me. Just head to our meeting place and join the others. If I can get away, I'll join you there. If not, Zorac," he said, indicating his second in command, "will carry on in my stead."
"Karic," Liane began, "don't" "Obey me in this!" he sharply cut in. "There's no time for discussion and, since I'm the only one of us who knows this area, few other options at any rate."
She stared up at him, fighting back the surge of fear that rose in her. If something happened to Karic in that village, if she lost him there . . . Liane straightened her shoulders.
"It will be as you ask."
He briefly eyed her, then turned and loped away into the darkness. Liane knew he'd be careful, that his Cat Man's stealth, speed and cloaking abilities would render him virtually undetectable, but she worried nonetheless. Yet perhaps the worst realization of all was that far greater dangers awaited them in Primasedes.
The unnatural quiet hung heavily on the nocte's air. Time seemed to drag with ponderous slowness as Liane awaited Karic's return. She strained for any sound of voices or struggle but heard nothing, and that absence began to fill her with rising dread. Something was very wrong, and all she could do was wait.
Finally, a tall, powerful form reappeared out of the darkness, Karic's return as swift and silent as his departure had been. Liane ran up, and he clasped her to him.
"What happened?" she demanded. "What did you find?"
"Nothing. There's no one there," Karic replied in a flat, emotionless tone. "The village is deserted."
Fear threaded Liane's voice. "Deserted? But where could they have gone? What happened to them?"