Daughter of Destiny (13 page)

Katarina nodded. She bent
over and retrieved her bra from the floor. The far-away look on her
face told Naia that already Kat's mind was scrolling through the
data in her head. Naia stepped back when Zane got up, figuring he
wanted a moment to say goodbye.

"I need you,
Katarina."

Katarina closed her eyes
and Naia stared, shocked that Katarina didn't immediately snap at
him. A part of her rejoiced that finally Katarina felt something
deeply enough to distract her from the consuming focus on work, but
the timing and man responsible for the distraction boded ill. Naia
wandered over to the kitchen and busied herself by getting a glass
of water, but she could still hear them and the little window over
the counter provided her with a clear view.

"I can't, Zane. I'm very
close to getting a treatment that will cure this virus."

"And if you could do
that?"

"If I knew for certain one
was found, then yes, I'd leave it in the hands of other people and
go to a black hole if that's where you wanted to go." For a long
minute Zane stared at the ceiling as Katarina resumed
dressing.

"I think I can
help."

Katarina halted in the act
of zipping up her skirt. "What?"

He walked across the living
room, picked up his small pack, and then pulled out a handheld
computer. He fiddled with something on the screen and then after a
long pause held it out to Katarina.

Naia hurried into the
living room and peered around Katarina. The screen displayed the
RNA sequence and other information of an engineered retrovirus.
Unlike Katarina, she couldn't recall entire gene sequences from
memory. "Is it the same?"

Katarina stared at the
screen, scrolling down and reading for long minutes before she
finally responded. "I never thought of using the selenium analogues
to decrease the wobble and improve specificity. At these doses
toxicity shouldn't be an issue either." She looked up and
excitement blazed in her eyes. "This should work, Naia. All I have
to do is change the small bits of sequence that are different to
match
Reaper a
nd we'll have a virus that can excise the
Reaper R
NA and repair the DNA damage. This reports an
eighty-five percent survival rate. Eighty-five percent,
Naia!"

Naia grinned at Katarina's
excitement. She expected her sister to rush out the door. Instead,
Katarina closed the distance with Zane and rewarded him with a kiss
that made Naia blush. Naia coughed and averted her gaze.

"Thank you, Zane. Give me a
week to get this started and I'll do whatever you need me to after
that."

He wrapped his arms around
her and nodded. "I'm doing this for myself as much as for the
mission." He and Katarina exchanged a long silent look. Zane's eyes
seemed haunted until Katarina reached up and placed a hand on his
cheek. The adoration in his gaze when he looked down at Katarina
sent a stab of unease through Naia. That expression bespoke deeper
emotion than mere lust.

Naia didn't see this ending
well for either of them, but it was not her place to point that
out. She headed toward the door. "I'll be at the lab." Lost in each
other, Naia doubted they even heard her. She suspected an entire
conversation took place between them beyond her perception. She
closed the door behind her, praying that the man from outer-space
didn't destroy her sister's heart.

***

Zane kissed her forehead
and then released her. Katarina finished dressing and pinned her
hair back. She glanced around the living room and realized Naia was
gone. A pang of guilt pricked her for ignoring Naia.

"She's worried about you.
She'd understand you better if you trusted her with the
truth."

Katarina didn’t need to ask
what Zane meant. He saw the things that haunted her just as she saw
the dark horrors tormenting his soul. "It’s not that I don’t trust
her. I just don’t want to hurt her. She has this rose colored
memory of my parents she uses to soften the pain of her past. I
don’t want to take that away."

Zane walked up behind her
and stroked her hair. "I know, but in the end your trust will mean
more to her." He kissed her cheek. "Go. I'll work with Coran via
your internet and plan out where we should go."

For the first time ever she
regretted having to go in to work. She smiled over her shoulder and
blew him a kiss before heading out the door. "I'll hurry
back."

In less time than estimated
Katarina had her altered gene therapy treatment in testing and then
joined him on the route he and Coran devised. She helped him
submerse into the cultures; experience them. Living them was the
most accurate method of interpreting a culture. Zane documented
everything with Katarina's help. When the two months neared an end,
he compiled enough information to keep an army of historians busy
for decades. He and Katarina avoided mentioning his looming
departure, but as he attempted to relax now that the mission was
all but finished, that fact haunted him.

The sun beat down on the
California beach, warming the sand beneath him. He closed his eyes
and tried to let his worries go for the moment. Today was supposed
to be for them. In two days he and Coran would be on their way out
of Earth's solar system. A salty moist breeze caressed his skin and
he breathed deeply, trying to etch the moment in his mind. Noisy
white birds flew overhead and equally noisy youngsters played in
the sand, adding a pleasant background that blended with the roar
of the waves.

Zane sensed Katarina’s
approach long before her shadow blocked out the sun. He raised a
hand to block the glare and opened his eyes. He almost wished he
hadn’t. Clad in a bright floral two-piece bikini, the suit left no
doubt about her alluring curves. Zane glanced around. Every male
eye in the vicinity, except for one man who snored under his
umbrella, focused on her. It was a painful reminder that Katarina
would have a world of men around her when he left. He reached out
and clasped her hand, needing a physical way to claim her in front
of the others. Her hand in his eased the ache in his
heart.

Zane forced a laugh. "I
guess I should feel lucky I have the most beautiful woman here. The
other men can’t take their eyes off of you." Zane frowned. "How do
you deal with it?"

Katarina sat down beside
him. "I ignore them. Most guys won’t make a move unless you give
them a little encouragement."

Zane harrumphed and
Katarina laughed at his response.

"Besides, it isn’t as if
women don’t stare at you with lust in their eyes. Look over there."
She nodded with her head to indicate several women ranging in age
from late teens well into middle age. "The teens I can understand.
Right now they pant after any decent looking guy. What irks me are
the older women. See the gray-haired woman in the blue t-shirt?
Those are her grandchildren she’s watching. She’s got a ring on her
left hand too. Does that stop her from ogling you? Not at
all."

It helped knowing she felt
the same insecurity he did. Zane toyed with a lock of Katarina’s
hair the wind had teased out from her bun. He grinned. "Maybe I
should give them a better show." He stood up in one fluid movement
and less than a minute later, he was slicing through the water with
smooth powerful strokes. The adrenaline pumping through his veins
chased away the momentary melancholy.

***

Katarina forgot to be
annoyed, as the beauty of Zane’s movements entranced her. How could
she blame the poor women? It was impossible not to watch him. Since
she knew how those strong hands felt on her skin, it wasn’t
surprising she was mesmerized more than anyone else.

The beach held far fewer
people than normal for the season, but she took comfort that this
outbreak didn't cause riots and panic. The news listed less than a
dozen deaths. In addition, the reports Naia sent filled her with
hope that finally people could live without the
Reaper v
irus
forever lurking in the shadows.

Katarina jolted and nearly
yelped when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Excuse me,
miss."

She craned her head up. A
man stood silhouetted against the sun.

"Yes?" Katarina couldn’t
believe it when the man sat down next to her. About the same height
as Zane, but leaner in build, not a flicker of attraction sparked.
Other women might find his blond angelic looks stunning. She just
wanted him to go.

"Your friend is quite a
swimmer."

Katarina shifted on the
blanket. Her maneuver served the dual purpose of turning toward him
while also putting more space between them. She gave him a stare
that made most men turn tail and run. "What do you
want?"

He looked out at the ocean
for so long Katarina wondered if the man was stoned. She caught the
movement of his eyes behind his sunglasses as he flicked a glance
toward her. "You do that well."

"Do what?"

He didn’t answer. She
clenched her jaw, evidence of her rising temper. He turned to face
her and a strange, but familiar sensation shot through her. She
opened her senses, even tapping into the deeper power she still
feared unleashing. When her probing senses brushed up against his,
a smile spread across his face.

"Perhaps my advice isn’t
needed after all."

"I didn’t ask for any." She
laced her voice with as much condescension as she could. She didn't
dare betray her apprehension. Katarina suspected what, if not who,
this man was. The power she sensed was strong enough, but not proof
positive. She met one like him before, so she knew a good look at
the man’s eyes would tell her one way or other, but asking him to
remove his sunglasses would tip her hand.

The man cocked his head to
the side and studied her. She stared back.

"You block well. I can’t
read you, but I can guess that right now you are just itching to
take these glasses off my face. Aren’t you?"

"Kraghak," she muttered
under her breath. The crease of the man’s brow let her know he was
frowning.

"A lady should never talk
that way. Where did you learn that? That language isn’t even spoken
on this world."

Katarina covered her face
with the palm of her hand. What were the odds he would know alien
curse words? If not for the power emanating from him, she might
think he was another alien, but she recognized those angelic
features and the shimmer of magic. Magic left a distinct energetic
impression. Her mother demonstrated how to look for it, and over
the years, as with most things her mother taught her, Katarina far
surpassed her mother's skills.

Katarina sighed. For some
unknown reason she drew the attention of a faerie. If her mother
were still living, she would have been urging Katarina to take note
of as many things as she could. While her mother's studies in the
realm of extrasensory perception and neurobiology garnered her both
acclaim and criticism, her real passion lay in uncovering the
truths behind myths such as those related to the Fae.

"Okay, let’s drop the
pretense. I know what you are. Did you feel the need to chat with a
lowly human, or is there some point to all of this?"

Katarina wanted to laugh at
the muscle tic in his jaw. For an otherworldly creature it was a
surprisingly human reaction. She bit the inside of her jaw to keep
from grinning.

"You would not speak so if
you knew who I was."

"Wanna bet?" The words
popped out of her mouth.
Good going, Kat,
she told herself.
Piss him off more.
To her surprise, the faerie laughed. If
she had any doubts before, his inhuman laughter confirmed he was a
bona fide Tuatha de’ Dannan. Katarina couldn’t help but glance
around to see if anyone noticed the hair-raising sound.

"They can’t see
me."

"Oh, great. I’m sitting
here talking to thin air. I wonder if anyone’s called for the men
in white jackets yet."

The faerie took off the
sunglasses, allowing Katarina to see his swirling iridescent eyes.
She caught herself before she frowned. She felt a fleeting
connection, a swirl of emotions that made no sense
whatsoever.

He waved his hand,
dismissing her concern. "I took care of that as well. Anyone
looking at you sees you on your back sunbathing. The Fae would
never do anything to harm you, Katarina."

Great, just great, he knew
who she was as well. A possibility occurred to her. "Are you the
one who's been spying on me?"

His eyes widened just a bit
and his jaw started to go slack before he caught himself and masked
his surprise. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Oh, drop the act. It was
you. What interest am I to the Fae, or to you in
particular?"

"I can't answer that
Katarina. Not yet." He looked out on the water where Zane floated
on his back. "I'm trying to help you, but an oath restricts both
what I can say and do. I can tell you that time is growing short
and the moment for a decision will soon be at hand." He turned back
to her. "Let go of your fear, Katarina. If you don't, many lives,
including your consort's, will be lost. Think long and hard and
you'll find the answer to the questions burning inside."