Kierra's Thread (Argadian Heart Trilogy Book 2) (5 page)

An echo of pain rippled up her arm, but the pleasurable
warmth soon overpowered the twinges. Jarek tried to remove his hand—she knew
he’d surmised the pain—but she shook her head. The discomfort turned to a dull
ache, but the energy of the touch mastered it.

Kierra looked into his eyes. “Soon,” she whispered.

Jarek’s soothing colors washed through her mind. “I can
wait,” echoed through her thoughts. “You’re more than worth waiting for. Your
healing has begun.”

Two weeks after the family dinner, Kierra sat before the microreader
again. She’d promised Eluria she would find a way to break down the Nanus
process that was used to prevent conception in the Twilight Companions.

At the time Eluria had become a Companion, she’d held no
hope of ever obtaining Union with Devon. She’d therefore agreed to the
alteration made to all Twilighters. She confided to Kierra how devastated she
was to not be able to offer Devon hope of Beyond through conception. As often
as Devon assured her it didn’t matter, it bothered her. Eluria wanted to hold
his child—one they had created together with their love.

Kierra wanted that for her. Eluria didn’t deserve to be
punished for her dedication to returning Devon, and so Kierra had assured
Eluria she would attempt to find an antidote. She was close; she was sure of
it.

She thought back to the dinner with her family and the
breakthrough she felt she’d made. To touch Jarek was an unexpected, pleasant
surprise.

It felt as though in accepting Devon she had breached some
of the impotent rage she held in her nightmare memories. It was a small step.

Healing. It was like standing beneath the gentle rain of a
warm season, washing the pain away. The next night she’d reached out for him
again. He never attempted to touch her, but simply waited for her to initiate.

The simple strength of his palm against hers, his heated
energy mingling with hers, made her seek more.

It was difficult for Jarek, she felt it in his mind, the
iron control he maintained on his desire to hold her, to seal with her. The
twinges of pain she experienced were less and less.

Soon. Soon the time would come when she would seal with him,
not only in his way of the thoughtwalk, as he termed it, but in the physical
sense as well.

Each time she saw Devon it was a little easier to see her
brother and not the Enforcer. They were all thankful he hadn’t been trained by
Odon. Odon warped those he came in contact with. She had been changed by what
he’d done.

Jarek had come away altered as well. Instinct told her he
hid the full import of that change well away from her. Every now and then she
came close to breaching the barrier, but she felt an unusual fear inside him
and immediately the barrier would strengthen. What was it that he could
possibly fear so much?

Shaking her head, she attempted to clear her thoughts. Her
lips curved in a smile as she thought of the night before.

She and Jarek had been alone in her apartments. They’d sat
cross-legged on the floor, facing each other. He called it a game of physical
quest. One designed just for them.

When he removed his shirt, his broad, solid chest was
exposed to her. Ebony, curling hairs thickly splayed across the sculpted
surface of a solid contour of deep, sun-kissed flesh, teasing her. His dark
brown nipples, beaded hard, beckoned her touch.

His green eyes had glowed like when they were in
thoughtwalk, an intense, vibrating florescent gleam of passion.

Her own sexual radiance began to emanate, a deep, rich green
cloak of color moving outward to enclose them both in preparation.

His mind reached for her, multitudes of color traveling
along the slim silver thread that bound them.

“Touch me.” His voice was a thick, rich cream, enticing her.

Extending a tentative hand, her palm flattened against his
pecs, the muscle quivered and tightened beneath her touch. His colors stroked
her mind, as she stroked his body.

A quiver of pain echoed along her arm and into her chest.

“Do you wish to stop?” he’d asked, feeling the same
vibrations run through her with his mind. She couldn’t break eye contact with
him and, instead, simply shook her head.

Her other hand rose to his chest, flattened, and they simply
stayed that way for long moments as she let the knowledge of his heat and
energy merge and pass through her.

The colors of his essence soothed her, stroked through her
mind, settled her within a cocoon of pleasure. She caressed his chest, swirled
her thumbs over tight, hard nipples, liked the feeling and an answering
response surged in her physical body. Swirling fire entered her stomach and
veered downward. Her shax released what seemed to be a liquid fire of pure
need, and her radiance shimmered brightly. Her breath quickened.

“I want to seal with you, Jarek.”

“Not yet,
na nivia
. You’ve only just begun to heal. I
would do nothing to cause you pain. We will go slowly.”

All these years he’d been so patient with her. Yet he’d
always had faith her spirit and her body would mend.

She felt the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. “I love
you, Jarek.” His fingers spasmed against his thighs.

“Touch me, Jarek. We can move slowly, but I need you to
touch me.”

He raised a hand and placed it lightly over one of hers. She
felt a tingle, like an ache, but not quite the same, more a throb of
acknowledgment. The sensation was one of excited awareness, the shade of pain
was consumed by the pleasure.

“Jarek,” she whispered.

Carefully, he rested his other hand over hers. “I have
waited for this moment, dreamed of it.”

The air around them was scented with arousal, hers as well
as his, an awareness of need. They sat like that for long moments, as Jarek
entered her mind and guided her to sanctuary—a place of safety where his colors
would slide through her, pleasuring her in the ways of a Serdionese
mindwanderer. Slender shafts stroked her, eased her, teased Kierra, until wave
after wave of his passion colors consumed her.

Later, when Kierra returned to awareness, she’d been shocked
to discover her nails had dug deep gashes into Jarek’s chest. She’d been
horrified, but he’d smiled.

“I have many scars, sweet Kierra. But these will always
bring pleasant memories—reminding me of you. Soon, Kierra, I promise you, we
will seal in the ways of your people.”

Although Kierra had protested, he had left her with that
promise. For the first time, she’d asked Jarek to stay, but he’d refused,
telling her his strength could only last so long. And then as she’d held her
breath, Jarek had leaned down and lightly glanced a kiss across her lips.

It wasn’t pain that coursed through her, but pleasure. A
knowledge of desire Kierra had thought destroyed forever by Odon and his
Enforcers.

And then he was gone before she could protest further. She’d
floated back to solid ground. The shadow that always hung over her had, for
once, disappeared. Kierra would be with Jarek as she was always meant to be.
Her lips curved in a smile. Sooner than he expected.

She blinked, trying to focus on the combinations of numbers
passing before her on the microreader. She would see Jarek later, but right now
Eluria needed her to concentrate and find an answer to her problem.

“Kierra.”

She blinked and looked up when she heard her name. “Eluria,
what are you doing here?” There was a tense, closed look about her. “What’s
wrong?”

“Come with me, Kierra. Hurry. Something’s happened, but I
don’t want to discuss it here.”

Quickly, Kierra slid from the stool, shed the white lab
coat, and followed Eluria from the lab. When she entered the conference room,
her heart stuttered as she looked around. She clutched a fist to her chest in
an attempt to control the rapid beats.

“Where’s Jarek, Eluria? What’s happened to him?” Kierra
closed her eyes and concentrated, attempting to follow the thread that bound
them. It stretched too far, wherever he’d gone was beyond communication.
“Jarek,” she gasped.

Eluria pulled a chair out from the table. “Sit down, Kierra,
please, and we’ll explain.”

Kierra dropped to the offered chair and turned her gaze on
Devon. “Where is he? Tell me now.”

Once she sat, Devon also sat in the chair across from her.
“We received a communication from one of our patrols. They’d been attacked and
their ship disabled. It was supposed to be a quick mission to retrieve the
patrol, and return to Ednos. Jarek was the only one available to lead the
mission.”

“And?”

Devon heaved a heavy sigh and ran a hand across his brow.
“They were ambushed and from what we can determine, Jarek was captured.”

“Where is he now?” she whispered.

Eluria reached out, hesitated, then lay a hand across
Kierra’s. A tremor passed through her at the unfamiliar sensation.

“Kierra,” she said quietly, “it was Odon’s Enforcers who
captured him.”

“Symion, no!” Kierra jumped from her chair. A sense of
horror raced through her. “Not Odon.” A desolate calmness followed, as the
reality of Jarek’s capture seeped through her. She knew what she must do. It was
as though fate had played this hand.

Her gaze crept back to Devon. “When do we leave?” There was
a quiet determination she hoped he understood.

“You’re going nowhere, Kierra,” Devon said.

“Yes. I am. You will not leave Ednos without me.”

“I will not be responsible for taking you anywhere near
Odon. If Jarek thought I’d brought you to that compound, he’d beat us both.”

“Well, let him try. Once we’ve found him. I will not rest
until Jarek is rescued. And you will not go without me. Once we’re on Argadia,
I have a chance of reaching him through the thoughtwalk. You won’t find him
without me. You know that.”

“Kierra—”

“It’s settled. No more discussion. If you don’t take me,
I’ll just hijack a solo ship. But I
will
go after him. With your help or
without it.”

She and Devon glared at each other across the table.

“Enough,” Eluria finally broke in. “We’ll have to take her
with us, Devon, or she’ll try something stupid. We don’t have time to argue.”

Kierra saw surprise register on his face. “Eluria, you are
not coming on this mission.”

“Oh, like you can stop me? You can’t possibly have thought I
was letting you go alone.”

“I would not be alone. I have a team ready, remember?”

“Forget it. You are my taman.”

“And as such, you will listen to me.”

Eluria drew herself up to her full height, faced him with
hands on her hips, chin jutted. “I’ve told you before, I can take care of
myself. You keep forgetting that.”

“Female, you try my patience.” His anger included both of
them, then his glance slid upward. “Mylonna, why have I been saddled with two
such stubborn females?”

“You’re stuck with us, brother. How soon before we leave?”

He heaved another deep sigh. “Meet me on the flight deck in
one hour. If you’re not there, I leave without you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

“I should just have you both confined until I return.”

“It wouldn’t work and you know it. I’ll see you in an hour.”
Kierra turned and left the conference room before Devon could say anything
further.

As she walked down the corridor, instinctively she again
reached for Jarek. He lived. She knew he was alive or the thread would have
been severed.

If she stopped to think about the fact that he was again in
Odon’s hands, pure terror would overtake her and render her worthless in
locating him. She could not retreat into her secret place, Jarek needed her to
be strong.

Odon must be stopped. She’d come full circle to the source
of her pain. She should have known she would be forced to face her greatest
fear before she would be allowed to move on. One did not heal without lancing
the wound and draining the infection. And Odon was indeed the infection. Not
only to her, but to all of Argadia.

She also knew Odon would anticipate their attempt to rescue
Jarek and most likely increase the guard. They had escaped once; Odon would try
to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. If Devon could get them inside the
compound, then Kierra could lead them to Jarek. He would keep Jarek alive just
to tempt them. But what condition would he be in when they found him? Odon’s specialty
was torture and he knew just how to do it, yet keep his victim alive. He had
twisted and destroyed more minds than Kierra cared to think about.

“Live, Jarek. Don’t let Odon defeat you after everything.
Live.
”

His hands were bound above his head, his legs shackled in
metal bands. A wound to his head seeped blood down the side of his face, and
discoloring was evident along the expanse of his chest. Trying to breath was
not a pleasant experience.

Jarek had flown into a trap. The patrol he’d been sent to
rescue were all dead. It was Odon who’d sent the message requesting help, using
the communication system of the downed Freelion ship. By the time Jarek had
realized their situation, they were surrounded by Odon’s Enforcers as they
attempted to disable his ship. Their retreat was cut off.

Even accepting they wouldn’t have a chance to escape alive,
Jarek had fought, knowing that if Odon captured them, they were all dead
anyway. Just like the patrol they’d been sent to rescue.

His one regret was leaving Kierra behind and that he hadn’t
taken the time to go to her before departing—possibly to touch her once more.
But he’d expected it to be a short and simple mission and that he’d soon return
before she discovered he’d even left.

An explosion had rocked the command deck, he’d been slammed
against a console, knocking him out. He’d woken here, locked securely in the
shackles he remembered so well, the hated bondage collar enclosing his neck.

He remembered Odon’s laboratory. The scars he carried were
vivid reminders of this hideous place, also known as the training room, or
torture chamber, to bondage servants. Odon took delight in his experiments and
the pain he elicited from his victims during those sessions.

When Jarek awoke, his mind had reached instinctively to
follow the silver thread to Kierra, to be assured she was safe. For a moment he
forgot she was free and no longer in need of his protection from Odon. He was
thankful not to find her, which meant she was not close by. He shut his mind,
locking himself off completely.

Jarek attempted to look around, to determine how many guards
were in place, and to see if any other of his crew had survived. But he was
prevented from movement by the collar attached to the bars jutting out from the
wall. He was truly immobilized. Between the arm and leg locks and the collar
there was no chance of escape unless Odon should happen to release him.

As he became more aware, he realized there were small discs
with wires attached to his temples. He attempted to follow where they led,
which appeared to be a microreader set on a table diagonal to the cage he was
entrapped in. A male in a lab coat sat before the microreader. By shifting his
gaze to the far left he could just make out the table.

Then he heard movement to his right. He tensed, knowing it
came from the entrance to the lab. The door slid open and then echoed as it
slammed shut. Heavy footsteps followed.

“Well, well, my property has been returned.”

Odon came into view. He hadn’t changed much over the years.
Tall, broad, and hairless. His eyes, black and emotionless as death. The smile
he offered Jarek did not reach his eyes. A veneer of triumph seemed to deepen
the swagger of his approach.

Odon strode toward Jarek, stopped, and studied him. Jarek
remembered that look, that assessing gaze of an owner for a newly purchased
possession, eyeing it for flaws or imperfections.  It was the look of
someone weighing the cost of merchandise against its usefulness.

Jarek could feel Odon’s jubilance and tensed as the
commander reached out to touch Jarek’s chest. Laying a palm against the
discoloration, he sought to dominate Jarek with a demand for submission.

Jarek refused to look away, to cower. Odon pressed until
Jarek winced. “You still color nicely, Serdionese.” He leaned forward. “Have
you missed our little sessions, pet?”

When Jarek refused to answer him, Odon pulled his hand away,
closed his fist and slammed it into Jarek’s bruised muscle.

“Answer me, when I ask a question,” he barked.

Jarek tried to gather breath, to master the pain as it
reverberated through him. “I’ve missed nothing you have to offer,” he ground
out. “You might as well kill me now and get it over with. Where’s the rest of
my crew?”

Odon’s laughter echoed throughout the room. “All dead. I had
no use for them. But you? No, no, pet. I have something new to try on you. I’ve
waited a long time for this.” He tapped the side of Jarek’s temple. “I enjoyed
the taste of your rebellious nature. In your mind you fought me, but your body
was mine to do with as I pleased. You bartered your body for the life of the
female as I remember. But your mind—that you refused to submit.”

He turned and walked toward the table containing the
microreader. He looked back at Jarek. “Not this time.” He reached into a case
that lay on the table next to the microreader and lifted out a syringe. He held
it up to Jarek. “This will give me what I want from you. Submission of your
body and your mind.” He laughed. “And you’ll even think it is by your choice.”

Jarek tensed as Odon came back to him. “The drug will open
your mind—every dark and hidden corner, every locked door. I was working on it
even before you left. You were a challenge I meant to break. My way.” He
reached for Jarek’s arm. Jarek tensed, trying to pull away, but knew it was
useless.

His thoughts were the one thing Odon could never force from
him. Submission of his body was one thing, but his mind he’d kept free. What
was Odon up to? Odon jabbed the needle into his arm, keeping eye contact with
Jarek as he did it. Slowly, he pressed the plunger.

Jarek felt a burning sensation run through his veins as the
drug entered his system.

“The drug will open all those locked doors you so
protectively kept shut.” Odon removed the syringe and tossed it aside. “And once
the doors are open, the microreader will alter your patterns. One by one each
of your memories will be shifted to the form I dictate. You were the only one I
was never able to conquer completely. You refused to surrender. But that’s
about to be rectified. I will own everything about you when we’re finished.”

Jarek felt the locks in his mind breaking, disintegrating
beneath the onslaught of the acidic drug coursing through him. He fought
against it, sweat breaking out on his body.

“No!”

Odon’s laughter echoed inside his head. The locks on the
doors melted, hot, molten acid spreading through his mind, and one by one the
doors shattered. His mind screamed in impotence.

“Do you see, pet? You are helpless to fight it. Unlike the
Nanus process that blocks thoughts, I have created a drug that actually molds
the thoughts and memories into the form I desire. A few more adjustments and it
will be ready for use on new Enforcer recruits. Much stronger than the Nanus
process. More reliable. The antidote your puny Freelions have created will be
worthless on this new force.”

Jarek could not let him succeed. All they had worked for
would be lost. The rebel forces would be defeated. There had to be a way to
fight the drug.

But as each door disintegrated and the last one broke free,
he knew a bitter defeat. Kierra’s thread. He had to find a way to sever the
thread. Kierra must never be touched by the warped horror Odon would seek to
create from Jarek’s memories. His mind felt like it was on fire.

“You will not succeed, Odon.”

“And how will you stop me, pet? Soon, any memory you have
will have been created by me. And once altered, it will not be recoverable. In
the thoughts I create for you, the female will never have existed.”

Jarek fought against the bonds that held him. He would not
succumb easily. He must destroy the link between himself and Kierra. She would
seek him out and what Odon would create would be nothing but a monster housed
inside the shell of the Serdionese she’d once known.

Jarek was losing the battle, he could feel it. His strength
was ebbing. What he must do was find a way to destroy himself from inside his
head before Odon could use him for his own devious purposes. But how? First the
thread.

What he needed to do was reach each room before Odon changed
the memory and destroy it beyond repair. In that way the memory couldn’t be
used against him or anyone he loved. Kierra would be safe. What would be left
of him he didn’t know. Probably a shell with no substance. It was what he must
do to protect the people he loved.

“I believe he’s ready for us to begin.” Odon spoke to
whoever was at the microreader ready to do as he commanded.

Jarek sensed there was little time left to accomplish his
purpose.

“You will never own me, Odon. I vow I will see to it and to
your death.”

“We shall see, pet, we shall see. You hold a strong mind and
that will make this all the more pleasurable as I mold you like a piece of soft
clay. Mine to form in any shape I please. Or to destroy. What I render here
will soon be an army to once and for all defeat the rebellion. You are but the
first. But you shall not be the last.”

*         
*          *

Kierra paced the command deck. “Are we almost there?”

“Yes,” Devon responded as he punched in the coordinates to
the safe landing site well hidden from the compound. “Now sit and strap in.”

She turned and made her way to one of the seats next to
Eluria and engaged the safety harness. “Do you have a plan on how we get into
the compound?”

“Yes. I’ll explain when we land. Let me get us on the ground
first.”

Fear for Jarek had her wound tightly. She knew she needed to
control the panic rising inside her. But the same thing kept chanting over and
over inside her head. She had to get to Jarek quickly.

Leaning back in the cushioned seat, she closed her eyes and
concentrated. They were close enough that she might reach him through
thoughtwalk. Concentrating, she found the thread and followed it. Slowly, she
allowed herself to float along its luminescent length into the darkness.

She’d never done it like this before. He usually met her
part way before she reached him. And then she saw the golden light. But
something was wrong. The yellow was tinged with a red mist and the light pulsed
as though the colors battled.

As she reached the arch of light, a dark shadow fell over
the entrance, blocking her from entering. It materialized and she drew a
relieved breath as she realized it was Jarek.

“Do not come further,” he commanded her.

“Jarek, we’ve come for you. It won’t be long. Are you all
right?”

There was a loud creaking sound and a crash behind him. She
glanced over his shoulder and was shocked to see the carnage of broken hinges
and shattered doors. She attempted to step around him, but he stopped her.

“You must go back, Kierra. It is too dangerous.”

She searched his face. His eyes were strangely dark. It was
as though swirling gray clouds filtered the light. “What has he done to you?”
She reached out to touch him, but he stepped away from her.

“You can’t help me. He’s drugged me and it’s not safe for
you. He means to manipulate my memories, get inside my head. He’s discovered
some new way to change the mind. I can’t let him succeed.”

He grabbed her by both arms, intent on turning her away. “We
must find a way to cut the thread that binds us.”

Kierra fought his grip and finally broke free. “Never!” She
ran past him into the red mist.

“Kierra! Come back.”

She ran to the first door and looked inside. The memory that
played out held her rooted to the spot. Oh Symion! What had Jarek suffered in
order to protect her?

He jerked her away from the door. “You will not stay here.
Go back. Now.”

“These are memories you locked away from me, aren’t they?”

He didn’t answer her, but tried to force her back from the
broken doorways.

She dug her heels in and refused to move. “Stop it, Jarek.
Where does he have you?”

“Leave, Kierra.”

“No. Devon and Eluria are with me. We will get to you. You
just need to hold on.”

“The drug has already done its damage. It won’t be long
before he begins to reshape…everything. Warp the memories until there’s nothing
left.” He leaned closer to her. “He means to remove my memory of you. I don’t
know how I will react if he does. I won’t take the chance I will hurt you if he
succeeds.”

“You would not hurt me. Tell me where you are?”

He shook her. “Haydon, Kierra. You know what he’s capable
of. How can you say I won’t hurt you when he attacks the cells of my brain,
destroying and manipulating to his own devious plan? The best thing you can do
if you do find me, is destroy whatever’s left of the shell.”

“No! One way or the other we are going to find you. Make it
easier and faster by telling me where you are. Or don’t. But if you don’t, it
will simply put us in more danger as we try to locate you.”

A hiss escaped his lips. “You are too stubborn for your own
good. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“Well?”

“I’m in the lab. Tell Devon he must destroy the microreader.
Find the drug and destroy all traces of it. It’s your only chance.”

She reached out to him. “I’ll tell him, Jarek. Hold on until
we reach you. Promise me.”

He looked away from her. She raised her hands and cupped his
face, forcing him to look at her. “Promise me.”

“I’ll do my best. Leave now. There are things I must do.”

“Jarek.”

“What?”

“Do not attempt to cut the thread that binds us.”

“Kierra—”

“No. I mean it. I love you, Jarek. If you are destroyed, we
both die whether you sever the cord or not. You are the reason I live. Do you
understand?”

“Don’t do this, Kierra. There won’t be anything left of the
man you knew. If he succeeds, there will be no memory of us.”

“I’ll find you before that happens,” she vowed. “Promise
me.”