Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology (34 page)

She supposed that explained why he seemed so familiar to her when she first heard him speak. She had obviously experienced scenarios like this with him in the past, then had the memories suppressed.

She started to ask exactly what a Mynder was, but he reached down and lifted her to her feet before she could. For some reason, the fact that he could so easily haul her around made her want to kick him.

"
We must go," he said. "The Shelvaks managed to place a transmitter on your vehicle. I don't know whether they managed to get one on your person."

Her irritation fled. She fought the urge to strip down and abandon her clothes. Then an even worse thought occurred to her: what if they had gotten something under her skin?

"You must trust me, Kyr."

She caught his gaze and swallowed her rising panic. A deep, buried part of her believed everything he
'd said. That was more distressing than the alternative. Still, her life was apparently in his hands.

"
I do trust you, Ty."

He nodded.
"Stay right behind me. The pickup location isn't far."

A snort escaped her. Stay right behind him? He
'd have to use a crowbar to pry her from his backside when they finally reached safety.

When he moved, she moved. There were only a few inches between them as they eased along the rows of shelving and got closer to the more populated area she
'd sensed earlier. Every shadow between the containers looked sinister to her. She tried to keep her gaze on the wide expanse of Ty's shoulders, but fear had her eyes darting in every direction.

Her mind raced. She still had so many unanswered questions. Exactly what did it mean to be the Ascendant? Why did the Shelvaks want to capture her? Would she ever get her real memories back?

Just how deeply did her relationship with her Mynder run?

"
Try to focus," Ty grumbled. "You're distracting me."

She bit her lip and issued a mental apology. Then she did her best to clear her mind. That was easier said than done. The only way she could distract herself from her pressing questions was to focus on Ty…on how stealthily and gracefully he moved for such a large guy, how strong he was and how secure he made her feel, how good he looked in his tight—

He stopped and turned to look at her. She clapped her hand over her mouth even though she hadn't said anything. His eyes rolled towards the ceiling, the silver irises gleaming as a beam of light struck them. She thought she should be embarrassed, but she found herself on the verge of hysterical laughter.

That urge died when she spotted the shadow moving behind him.

In the next instant, she was flying backwards. She landed with a bone-jarring smack on the hard ground. Pain shot through her wrists as she instinctively used her arms to break her fall. Her already thudding headache blasted through her skull with renewed vigor.

A shout of pain filled the cavernous space. She realized Ty had been wounded.

Another layer of her mental suppression eased. A memory flashed through her. Ty, years younger in appearance, knelt in a lavishly decorated room filled with people. Two of those people, an adult male and female, stood over him. Kyra watched the proceedings from a few feet away, flanked by a number of large males bearing weapons. She was used to this, having been under guard since she was born.

"
TaeDane," the adult female said in a commanding voice, "according to the stars, you are fated to serve as the Mynder
of the Ascendant. There is no greater honor or graver responsibility among our kind. Do you accept your fate?"

Ty
's gaze moved to Kyra, then back to the male and female. "I do," he said.

The couple nodded. They each took one of Ty
's hands and closed their eyes. Everyone watched in silent expectation.

Searing light slowly slid across Ty
's inner forearms, creating intricate patterns. Low sounds filled the room as the spectators commented on the event. Kyra watched it all without any reaction. She knew the process of the branding was a painful one, but it wasn't as though the pain was hers. She could, however, admit to being impressed by the boy's silence throughout the ordeal. At least her Mynder wasn't a weakling.

After a long while, the light faded. The marks remained, lining Ty
's tan skin with delicate white scars.

The female once again spoke, her deep purple gaze intent on Ty
's. "Henceforth,
Dem-shyr
TaeDane, these markings will gift you with abilities beyond those of other Alametrians. These new abilities will grow along with you over time."

Without a flicker of expression entering his blue eyes, the male added,
"
Dem-shyr
TaeDane, you have spent your formative years learning the feelings and thought processes of beings from other civilizations. It was necessary for you to complete these lessons prior to assuming your new role so that your focus will be on the Ascendant's protection during her education. You will apply those lessons henceforth."

"
You will now always know how to find the Ascendant," the female said, "no matter her location. You will now always know her thoughts and feelings. Should any being ever intend her harm, you will now sense it. Your strength is henceforth enhanced beyond the ordinary."

Kyra
's gaze shifted to the adult male. His expression remained placid when he next addressed Ty. "Should you ever overstep your role,
Dem-shyr
, these markings will remind you of your place."

The memory took less than a second to surge through Kyra
's mind. Focusing on the present, she shook her head to clear it and thought of the instances in the past hour when she had seen Ty's markings glow. For the first time, she realized that kissing her and touching her in any kind of way other than for her protection caused him pain.

But he
'd done it anyway.

She didn
't have time to process what that meant. Right now, thanks to her inability to control her thoughts, he'd been injured. He could be killed.

She
hurried to her feet. After all he had done for her, there was no way she could let that happen.

At the end of the aisle, Ty regained his feet to face four Shelvaks. A long gash ran down his right upper arm. Blood dripped from the injury to the floor. The sight of it made Kyra lightheaded. The pulse in her throat vibrated so hard that she could barely breathe.

Just what did she think she could do against these creatures? She was just a shy, unpopular girl who was probably still being laughed at by Jason and his friends.

You are the Ascendant
.

The thought ran through her mind directly behind her doubts. Nodding to herself and taking a deep breath, she glanced around for something to use as a weapon. Just feet away, Ty produced the sword of light that he
'd used earlier. He met the strike of one of his attackers while at the same time ducking the blow from another.

Hurrying to the closest shelf, she tried to open a crate to look for something to use as a weapon. It was nailed shut. So were the crates surrounding it. Cursing, she whirled to the other side of the aisle, where a number of metal containers were stacked.

Four more Shelvaks stood in her way.

They always travel in formations of eight
.

Where had that thought come from? She didn
't have time to ponder it. Instead, she stumbled backwards a few steps until she hit the crates. Her eyes flew wide as she fought the urge to scream. Without a weapon or any skill to use one, she'd be nuts to try and defeat these things. Turning to the right, she ran.

Her heart pounded in her ears. All she heard was her own harsh breathing and the slapping of her shoes against the floor. Ahead of her, the aisle was cloaked in darkness. Primal terror almost overtook her as she thought about being alone in the inky dark with these creatures. What if more of them were waiting for her?

A chill whispered across the back of her neck. Although the Shelvaks moved in silence, she sensed that they had reached her. A whimper escaped her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a long, curved tool lying on the bottom of a shelf. Diving to the ground, she grabbed the heavy crowbar and rolled with it in her hands. Instinct had her swinging like a ballplayer on stimulants.

The tool nearly flew from her hands when she hit a solid mass. She managed to catch one of them in the side of the head. It ended up sprawled a few feet away and didn't move.

Tightening her grip, she swung again. The pronged tip caught on the fabric of a Shelvak
's suit. It ripped as she pulled back, baring an unnaturally pale chest. She stopped her backwards momentum and jerked the crowbar forward again, this time hitting the Shelvak's bare flesh. It screeched loud enough to make her head feel like it was splitting in two.

A cold hand grabbed her ankle and yanked her. She skidded across the floor as though she
'd been launched from a catapult. She smashed into a container and dropped the crowbar. Agony radiated through her head and arm. Her gaze went in and out of focus, but she saw the shadows of the Shelvaks as they approached.

Before they reached her, Ty landed beside her. His weapon swung in a wide arc, blazing a trail of light across the aisle. Kyra
's eyes watered from its intensity. She closed them against it.

The next time she opened them, she was lying on the ground outside. The rain had stopped, but the grass beneath her was still wet. Ty knelt over her. She guessed they had escaped the storage facility, as there wasn
't a Shelvak in sight. Unfortunately, she hadn't escaped unscathed. Blazing pain made her want to throw up.

"
Your shoulder is dislocated," Ty said, meeting her gaze. "I had hoped to correct it before you awoke, but I had to get you away from that place first."

Tears filled her eyes. She
'd never had more than a scraped knee in her life. This was what she got for trying to protect herself.

"
Why did you do that?" he asked, reaching out and brushing her damp hair from her forehead. "You've never tried to fight them before."

"
I don't know," she said, swallowing hard to keep from vomiting all over him. "I just felt like I should do something to protect myself."

"
But that's my job."

"
Well, your job sucks." Her eyes moved to his right arm. She realized that although there was blood on his bicep, the cut had all but disappeared.

"
I heal quickly. Another perk of my job. Next time, leave the fighting to me."

She started to argue. He covered her mouth with one hand and shoved her shoulder back into place with the other. Her body arched as she screamed. The sound was muffled, but came from the deepest part of her.

"I'm so sorry, Kyr," he said in a hoarse voice. "There was no avoiding that."

Pride had her nodding and battling back her tears instead of sobbing like an infant. When he sat beside her and gathered her close, she didn
't fight him. In truth, she welcomed it. She pressed her face against his hard chest, breathed in his scent, and felt her fear subside. His heart raced beneath her ear. She wondered if it was residual adrenaline from their close call or a result of their mutual attraction to one another.

"
My heart beats for you," he murmured against the top of her head.

She leaned back to catch his gaze, wondering what he meant. That was when she noticed that his forearms were glowing. Gasping, she shoved away from him. Once they were separated, the glow subsided.

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"
Touching me like that…it hurts you."

"
You've remembered more than I anticipated." He kept his gaze steady on hers. "You've never been concerned about it before."

Now it was her turn to frown.
"I wouldn't ever want to cause someone pain. Am I really that selfish?"

A corner of his mouth lifted.
"Not anymore, it would seem. One more lesson learned." He moved closer to her and dragged her back against him. "Kyr, you hurt me more by pulling away than you ever could by allowing me to touch you."

When he leaned down to kiss her, she met him halfway. Her lips parted, inviting him to deepen the kiss. He seemed more than eager to do so. His tongue danced with hers as his hands began to roam. Pleasure streaked through her. A moan escaped. The confident way he touched her told her they had done this many times before. That didn
't make it any less exciting. She allowed herself to explore the hard contours of his body as he lowered them both so that she was on the grass and he was pressed against her.

This was absolutely insane. All of it. Maybe Jason had slipped something into her drink. That was a much easier explanation to believe than that she was something called the Ascendant from the planet Alametria, and that her Mynder bodyguard found her irresistible enough that he was willing to suffer just to kiss her.