Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology (33 page)

She tried to grasp the arms around her in order to escape, but the material of whatever clothing the creature wore wouldn
't allow her to get a handhold. Undeterred, she kicked backwards as hard as she could. Her heels met with solid matter, but she hurt herself more than her attacker. Pain shot up her calves.

The hold around her ribcage cinched tighter. Her breath left her in a quick whoosh, as though the creature was stealing it.

The male's silver eyes flashed like diamonds catching sunlight. The creature flinched, then froze. The male charged with his weapon poised to strike. Kyra screamed, certain she was about to die.

The next thing she knew, she was on the ground, covered in filth and dark, chalky residue that blended with the rain. She stayed on all fours, trying to figure out what had just happened. One moment, she was in the shadow-figure
's grasp, and the next it just dissolved into nothing. Did that mean she was covered in the thing's remains?

"
Rise," the male said as he stopped near her.

Her arms trembled. Though she didn
't want to, she dared to look up at him. "What—what was—who—?"

She couldn
't form a coherent thought, never mind ask a question. She wondered if she really had wrecked her vehicle and was hallucinating. Her head hurt enough to justify the idea.

"
Another contingent will be right behind this one," he said.

He reached down and encircled her waist with his large hands, lifting her so she stood in front of him. She had to crook her neck to look into his eyes, then wished she hadn
't. His steely expression produced a whimper in the back of her throat.

Pushing away from him, she ran towards her vehicle. Her bag was there. She needed to get away. She needed to get in touch with her parents.

A squeak escaped her as she was swept off her feet. She found herself pressed against the male's chest as he scooped her up into his arms. Even as she opened her mouth to shout at him, his eyes flashed again. Her entire body relaxed. Every worry and concern fled her mind. She sagged against him, forgetting about her fear and pain and letting him carry her away from the street that remained empty aside from her abandoned vehicle.

He smelled wonderful, she thought through the haze coating her brain. She sensed something familiar about his scent, but didn
't know what it was. Heat radiated from beneath his drenched clothes, soothing her. Although she had no reason to feel any safer with this stranger than she had while facing the shadowy figures, she did.

She wasn
't sure how long they moved through the rain and darkness, but when she next began to feel more like herself, she realized they were inside some kind of storage facility. They stood among rows of high shelving filled with crates and containers. Dust tickled her nose, telling her it wasn't accessed often. Thin slivers of light filtered through the shelves to their right, coming from an unseen source. She heard machinery in the distance and guessed that another part of the facility was currently in use.

The male set her on her feet. His eyes flashed again. Her fear resurfaced. When she tried to wriggle out of his grip, he tightened his hold.

"Who are you?" she asked. Her voice shook. Her knees felt just as unsteady.

He sighed.
"We always go through this, Kyr. I fear we don't have enough time for the long version right now."

She frowned. How did he know her name? Why was he leaving off the
"a," almost like a nickname? What did he mean by
always go through this
?

"
You're just going to have to trust me for a moment," he said.

Before she could argue, he reached behind her head, cupped her neck, and bent down to kiss her. A gasp caught in her throat, but never escaped. The moment their lips touched, the sense of familiarity that she
'd experienced a couple of times since he appeared blossomed into a memory. The memory of his kiss.

She closed her eyes and sank into his embrace, not having realized how much she craved it. A latent part of her mind sprang to life, reminding her of the intense attraction she shared with him. She savored the taste of him, the way his tongue felt when it touched hers, the way he made her feel as he caressed her. The kiss could have gone on forever and she still would have wanted more.

When they finally parted, she stared up at him, blinking as memories shifted in her mind.

"
TaeDane," she breathed.

She remembered that she called him Ty. She also remembered that the markings on his forearms glowed with ethereal light whenever they kissed, though she couldn
't remember why.

The corners of his eyes wrinkled with humor.
"That was definitely easier—and more enjoyable—than the way we've been going about resurfacing your memories between lessons."

She frowned. Although she remembered his name and the flavor of his kiss, and although she felt she could trust him, other important details remained cloudy. How could that be? Was he using some kind of hypnosis?

"Not hypnosis exactly," he responded. Her eyes widened. "But I am capable of reading thoughts and controlling minds."

Another word flashed though her head:
Mynder
.

He nodded.
"That's correct. I am your Mynder…the
Dem-shyr.
We were born on the same day, at the same time, under the same star. The connection was inevitable."

His words made no sense. Under the same star? What did that have to do with anything?

"Fortunately for both of us, we grew to like each other," he said, running his finger along the side of her face, then tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. A shiver coursed through her. She couldn't look away from his compelling gaze. "Not that you made it easy for me. You are as stubborn as they come. It's a good thing I couldn't resist your beauty."

Embarrassment pinkened her cheeks. She looked away from him, turning her gaze downward.
"I'm not beautiful," she murmured.

His strong hand lifted her chin so she had no choice but to look at him again. After a moment of studying her, one of his dark brows lifted.

"Interesting. I didn't think it was possible."

She blinked.
"Didn't think what was possible?"

"
For you to learn humility." He tilted his head and continued to stare at her. She once again lowered her gaze. Her face felt like it was on fire. "Your appearance is as it needs to be in order for you to learn your lesson here. Still, I never thought you'd master this one. It seems I was wrong."

Something jiggled in the back of her mind. It helped ease her embarrassment over having all of his attention on her.

"I'll bet that hurt you to admit," she said.

"
We'll just say you should never expect to hear it again."

For some reason, despite her lingering fear, his response made her want to laugh. She shook her head over the reaction. There were obviously bigger things to address than his male pride.

"What did you mean by 'we always go through this?'" she asked. "And by 'between lessons?' And most importantly, what were those things that tried to hurt us?"

His brow furrowed. His gaze moved up and down the aisle, probably assessing any potential danger or eavesdroppers before he replied. She found herself looking at the wicked shape of his mouth and couldn
't help but hope he'd kiss her again to stimulate her memories in answer to her questions.

When he looked back at her, he grinned. It transformed his face from handsome to sinfully sexy. Her heart galloped in her chest.

"As much as I enjoy kissing you, KyrVawn, there is danger involved in resurfacing too many memories right now."

She wanted to sink into the floor. How could she have forgotten that he could read her mind? How was she supposed to control her thoughts when he looked as magnificent as he did? What did it say about her that her attraction to him took precedence in her mind over the questions she had just asked?

"Wait a minute," she said, interrupting her thoughts before they got her into even more trouble. "My name is Kyra Vaughn. That's not what you said, though, is it?"

"
Whenever you venture abroad, that's the name you take. It's a more commonly used linguistic format across the universe. But on our world, you are KyrVawn. You are the only daughter of the Guardians, ShayaVawn and BrunyrVawn. You are the Ascendant."

Her knees failed her. He reached out and helped ease her to the ground, sitting beside her. They leaned against one of the crates sitting on the shelves.

Had he said,
on our world
? Was he implying that she wasn't from this planet?

He was out of his mind.

"I have parents," she said, struggling to produce the words. "I've lived here my entire life."

"
The beings living with you are Alametrians, friends of your true parents. They traveled with you from our world, and have lived with you as your parents on a number of worlds before this one. The memories you have of your life here were implanted to give you the foundation you needed to learn your lesson while on this planet."

She wanted to shake her head in denial, but he was doing something with his abilities to suppress her raging doubt. While she wanted that to anger her, she couldn
't find that emotion within her, either. She sensed that this was a conversation he'd had with her before and he knew just how to control it.

"
Our people are considered the most advanced, highly-evolved beings in the galaxy," Ty continued, taking hold of her hand and linking his fingers with hers. He ran his thumb over her wrist, making her pulse race. The markings on the insides of his forearms glowed again, drawing her attention. "The primary way we maintain this status is by traveling to other worlds and living among them, absorbing experience as we do. By learning to live as other beings do, we expand our minds and more fully appreciate their viewpoints on critical matters, such as intergalactic politics and manners of conduct."

It was like she had fallen into an alternate dimension. Hell, maybe she had.  That made as much sense as this conversation.

"But how can we possibly blend in among beings from other planets?" she asked. Her head throbbed, making her reach up to touch the tender spot that had connected with her steering wheel. "Don't we look different than they do?"

"
We resemble most beings across the galaxy. Planets that can support sentient life all contain similar molecular compositions. Thus, the life that springs from those planets is quite similar in appearance. There are, however, some planets that evolve…differently."

She shuddered.
"Those creatures that tried to hurt us?"

"
Yes, among others. They are the Shelvak. Their planet is the closest to Alametria."

His words made no sense, yet struck a chord within her. How could she believe any of this? Was he stimulating a suppressed memory? Was he using his abilities to implant the suggestion that she believe him? Or was she just losing her mind altogether?

After a moment, she shook her head at herself and asked, "Why did they attack us?"

"
They are trying to capture you."

Her mouth dropped open.
"Me? Why?"

"
I told you…you're the Ascendant."

Goosebumps sprang up on her arms. She reached up to rub away the sudden chill. Although she didn
't understand the title he kept giving her, she was intuitive enough to reason that it carried some significance. How had she gone from a night of humiliation at the hands of Jason Ringsted to sitting on a dirty floor listening to a hot guy telling her that her life was a sham and aliens from another planet wanted to capture her?

"
I don't normally share this much with you between transitions," he said. His deep voice was softer now, prompting her to look at him. "The risk to your mental status is too great. But the Shelvak found you more quickly this time. Their reach has extended beyond its typical boundaries within the galaxy."

She just stared at him. How was she supposed to respond to something like that? Ten minutes ago, she didn
't think there was any such thing as life on other planets.

"
We have to get you to the correct coordinates so that we can transition you to another planet outside of this galaxy."

Her eyebrows shot up.
"What? Why?"

"
You still have key lessons to learn before you return to Alametria. Obviously, you can no longer do that among the worlds we—and the Shelvak—know so well."

"
Why can't I learn these lessons on Alametria?" she asked.

She considered the question just after she issued it. Was she really buying all of this?

In light of the evidence she'd witnessed that night, how could she not?

Ty watched her, probably reading her thoughts. Whatever he divined seemed to meet with his approval.
"Your education would not be well-rounded enough if limited only to our world." When she started to reply with another question, he got to his feet. "We don't have time for detailed explanations. I must focus on getting you out of here. I told you about the Shelvak to heighten your awareness of them from now on. Your memories of this evening will always be within your subconscious. I may be your Mynder, but I have to keep my distance during your lessons and can't always be there when you need me."