Black Gate: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 4 (16 page)

Katherine ignored Teagh’s flare of alarm. “So, there are three Gates. What did you tell it? About me?”

The Rear Admiral nodded to the boys to help him to his feet. “It asked me to release you from your duty to us, Katherine. Asked me to free you from any sense of obligation or any promises you made to us. But I can’t do that. Especially, now. Not when these Gates are a bigger threat than I’d ever imagined. I saw what the Gate wants to do. It wants you to open a portal for an army of the most hideous creatures I’ve ever seen. It wants them set free.”

He nodded at the men and grimaced as Ryan and Frank helped him to his feet. “I’m out, too, boys. But we’re going to do this the smart way. We’ll stay right under their noses.”

“Bullshit. Why should we trust you?” Ryan spit the words at the man, even as he helped the Rear Admiral stand.

“Because I was in the dark with you. Because, like you, now that I know the truth, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect what matters.” The Rear Admiral sounded like an old man, not an experienced warrior still years away from retirement. He was tired and hurting, just like she was. “And because I know where to hunt for the Immortal bastard who started all of this.”

“I need to know where he is as well.” Teagh’s warm strength ceased flowing into her tattered body when he lifted his hand from her hip to stand and face the team. “He must be eliminated.”

Drew leaned one shoulder against the wall. “How, exactly, do you kill an Immortal?”

“Cut off his head. Separate the head from the body. Incinerate both.”

Matteo pretended to pick something from his teeth with his knife. “That the only way?”

Teagh snorted. “For you? Yes. That’s the only way.”

Frank looked at Andrew and something passed between them before Andrew spoke up. “Explains the sword.” He walked over to a black duffel bag and removed the sword she’d seen Teagh use to strike down the Triscani in the dark. He laid it flat on Teagh’s kitchen table. “I’ll just leave this here for you then.”

“And a really big fucking bullet? A clean head shot?” Seb directed the question at Teagh. The man did love his rifle.

Teagh shook his head. “Might slow him down, but it’ll just piss him off.”

“Good to know.” Ryan hoisted the Rear Admiral higher on his shoulder and steered them toward the door. “See you later, Kitty-Kat. Don’t get yourself killed.”

“I won’t.” Katherine wanted to believe that her team would be safe, that she would be as well, but that would be a little girl’s fantasy, a complete illusion. Even if her team reported back to the Casper Project, pretended to be obedient little soldiers, they’d still be in danger, and they’d be hunting an Immortal. She met Frank’s gaze, and he must’ve seen her worried expression.

“Don’t worry. We’re a tough bunch of bastards.” He looked at Teagh. “We’ll find him and let you know, just in case.”

“Do not confront him alone.” Teagh gave his warning, but Katherine knew the guys too well. They wouldn’t wait for him. If the opportunity arose to take this Immortal down, they wouldn’t hesitate, not for an instant. Even if it got them all killed.

“I can help, Frank.” She met his eyes, then searched for Seb. Mind to mind, she tried to send Sebastian a message. He’d known she called the Rear Admiral a weasel. She’d never spoken it aloud. Not once. Which left her wondering if Sebastian had been keeping secrets like the rest of them. Seb froze as her words reached him, but didn’t give her away.
The Dark is mine, now, Seb. It does what I ask, just like the Weasel wanted. Find this asshole and let me help you kill him.

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Frank nodded. “Take care of yourself first. And be careful.”

Sebastian winked at her and answered.
Consider it done, Kitty-Kat
.

Teagh shifted beside her. “We need to set a trap for the Immortal.”

Andrew pulled away from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “We’ll handle it.”

“You’ll get yourselves killed.” Teagh practically snarled at them. “And place Katherine in danger. The Immortals are more dangerous than you can possibly imagine.”

Seb snorted. “We’re dangerous, too.”

Katherine agreed, but Teagh was having none of it. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. You’ll be slaughtered like babes in the woods.”

Seb shifted as if to argue, but Andrew held up his hand. “You’d be surprised by what we know, Itaran.”

Teagh sank down and leaned back into the sofa. He had a new look in his eye that Katherine couldn’t quite decipher.

“What’s an Itaran?” So, Robbie had no issues being the dumb one who asked the obvious question. But she noticed Matteo, Ryan and Frank snapped to attention, waiting for the answer.

“A being from my home world.” Teagh sounded tired. “A place I’ve not seen in a very long time.”

Shit. He really was from another world. Just like Mari’s main squeeze, Raiden. “What are you all doing here? On Earth?” And though she tried to hold it in, she blurted the next question. “And when are you going back?”

Teagh looked weary, his gaze solemn when she twisted to study his face. Her back burned, but it had become such a constant pain that she was adapting, and could ignore it…as long as Teagh touched her. The back of his hand burned along the side of her thigh. The flow of energy between them seemed to help hold the worst of the pain at bay.

“I have been here for a very long time. I am the Guardian of the Gate, the Darkwalker Lord, and Protector of Three Worlds, Earth included.” He paused, glanced around the room at the men as if weighing how much to say. Teagh’s eyes rested on the Rear Admiral for a tad too long, and she knew he wasn’t going to tell them everything. She couldn’t blame him. “Earth sits between two warring worlds. The Gates were created a long time ago to keep the Immortal races on both worlds separate, to end a war. The Gates also were linked to the Darkwalkers that protected the Earthen plane thousands of years ago.”

Frank stiffened and he looked at her with a quick nod, letting her know he remembered the vision they’d shared of dark entities flooding the earth with their evil. She shivered and Frank yanked on the Rear Admiral. “Let’s go, boys. The sooner we get back, the less we’ll have to lie, the sooner we can start our hunt for this Immortal, and the faster this stubborn bastard will get help for Katherine.”

The whole team moved as one, as always, and being left out of that flow was a visceral shot to her gut. She was going to miss them, but she still had a job to do, one that she most likely wouldn’t survive. “You boys behave.” It was her standard goodbye when they went out trolling for ladies or trouble, and usually both. Lying to the Casper Project commanders and hunting an Immortal definitely qualified as trouble.

Matteo smiled. “Always.”

Frank looked over his shoulder. “Get her healed. We’ll set the trap. Contact us if you need us. When we find him, we’ll let you know. If we miss him, he’s all yours.” And then, on a separate telepathic pathway, he spoke directly to Katherine.
Call to me or Seb if you need us. We can both hear you, and we’ll all come running.

Katherine closed her eyes to hide her reaction, but couldn’t stop the tense shockwave moving through her muscles as Frank surprised the hell out of her.
Does the Weasel know about you two?

Seb’s laughter filled her mind.
Hell no. And we’d prefer to keep it that way.

She grinned.
Deal.

The Rear Admiral gave her a gift as he left. “I’m going to report you M.I.A., Katherine, lost in the Dark. The Gate has been documented and will be guarded 24/7. Don’t make a liar of me and get caught poking around.”

“Yes, Sir.” She answered on autopilot, used to following this man’s orders. “But I want to talk to Doc Hansen. I need to know exactly what he did to us, and what he used.”

“I’ll make sure of it, Kitty-Kat. And we’ll look after Robbie for you, too.” Matteo slapped Robbie on the back. “Let’s roll, kid.”

“Robert.” The Rear Admiral nodded at the skinny teenager.

“Yes, Sir.” Robbie waved his hands in the air for about a minute. A chuckle rose up in her throat at his theatrics, but then a portal opened in front of him, just like the one she’d used to travel on the dark side and rescue her team.

Less than a minute later she was alone with a man she didn’t know, couldn’t trust, and couldn’t stop…wanting.

She lay back down and rested her head on his thigh. It was the only thing she could do. Despite the fact that it made her feel weak and worthless, she needed the contact. Her body no longer obeyed her commands. Her feet refused to step. Her knees refused to bend. Her hands refused to release their tight hold on his clothing. Every moment in his presence filled her up with power, lessened the pain and made her nerves sigh in relief, as if his very presence were a soothing balm to their frayed ends.

Maybe it was him. Maybe it was his connection to the Gate. She didn’t know. All she knew was that the relief was so great she couldn’t bear to move away. Not yet. A few more minutes maybe, and she’d feel strong enough. A few minutes for Mari to arrive. That was all she needed.

And the will power to crush this maddening desire under her proverbial boot heel.

Bloody hell. She wanted to kiss him. Again. No, scratch that. She wanted to throw him down on the floor and have her wicked way with him…or let him have his wicked way with her.

Curled up on a sofa with a man she didn’t know, in the most agonizing pain of her life, and she was still thinking about sex with an accused traitor? What was wrong with her?

She didn’t know, but had her suspicions. That damn Mark on her side had to be the culprit. It burned, not with pain, but with a slow simmering heat that replaced her blood with melted caramel. She didn’t want to move away from him. And she was fairly certain she knew why. She’d Marked him. The strength and power she felt from his touch alone was evidence she could no longer deny. He was, by far, the single most dangerous man she’d ever met.

And Ajax said he was a traitor. Her Marked Mate was a traitor.

Was it truly possible that he’d committed the crime the Lost King accused him of? If not, then why hadn’t he sent for Mari?

Screw this. She’d take care of herself. Always had. Always would.

She reached for Mari, but couldn’t connect. She needed the power of the dark to boost her telepathy if she were to contact Mari directly because she didn’t actually know the woman. Damn it. Resigned to do this the hard way, she reached for Sarah’s mind and did the one thing she truly hated to do…ask for help.

Sarah. I need Mari. I’m badly hurt.

Sarah didn’t waste time asking stupid questions.
Where are you?

I don’t know. I’m with a man named Teagh. I think this is his home
.

Surprise filtered through Sarah.
Mari and Raiden know Teagh. They live not far away from him. Hold on.

Less than a minute later, Sarah came back to her.
Teagh already contacted Raiden. They’re on their way. She’ll be there in ten minutes.

Thank you.
She tried to hold the stark relief in check. So Teagh had planned to take care of her after all. But she couldn’t let that change anything. She could survive for ten more minutes. She’d heal and then get the hell out of here. She had a job to do. And, thanks to Ajax’s warning, Teagh absolutely could not be part of her plan.

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Ajax drifted, his thoughts a swirling hurricane of disconnected thoughts and desires. He focused on the music, as he often did, as an anchor in the madness he had no hope of ever defeating. The dark souls of over a hundred Hunters burned through him every moment. There was never a single heartbeat of time he knew peace from their twisted rage.

Teagh and Bran, were still connected to him through their blood oath, and Ajax felt the miniscule trickle of darkness they managed to pull from him. They may as well have been trying to relocate a large desert one tiny grain of sand at a time. They should have taken his head. He’d never forgive their betrayal. He’d never forgive them for forcing him to live like this.

It wasn’t just the hundred evil Hunters he carried, but the souls they’d taken before he had defeated them as well. There were too many too count, all blurring in his heart and mind in a constant clamor of rage and pain within. He couldn’t escape the cacophony of their hate and it consumed him until he could barely remember his own name.

The darkness within insisted that the only way to silence the noise was to feed it, more souls, more energy. Ajax knew if he weren’t trapped in this prison, he’d be completely unable to resist that lure.

Anything. He’d do anything, give anything, for one moment of peace.

Burning liquid coursed continually through his veins from a human I.V. that was taped to his scalp, out of reach. Poison. To keep him trapped here. Weak. Chains held his forehead, neck, chest and limbs to a thin mattress atop a stone base.

Escape.

The need beat inside his body, more than desire, more than instinct.