Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 3) (2 page)

            Warm and comfortable, Kelen quickly slipped into a peaceful rest.

Chapter 2

Exercise

            A strong hand grabbed her by the wrist as Kelen rose from the bed. “Where do you think you are going?” a gravelly voice inquired.          

            Kelen smiled down at him. “Answering the call of nature. How do you feel? You were out cold when I joined you.”

            “I am feeling better. How was guard duty?”

            Kelen crawled over to use the small hole in the floor in the corner of the room. “Nerve-wracking. Sandow wants to call a council meeting to discuss finding a more suitable method of keeping those two incarcerated.”

            “A council meeting?”

            “Well, since we don’t have an official leader anymore, he believes we should revert to a more democratic form of rule. I agree with him. We’re all in this together, so each of us should have a voice in whatever we plan to do.” Finishing, she went over to the side of the bed and began to dress. She didn’t missed Kyber’s frown.

            “Going somewhere?” he inquired.

            “Jules asked me to accompany him and Fullgrath up top to help create a star chart.” She flashed him a smile. “The trip will do us good. Besides, I need to stretch my legs. Get a bit of exercise.”

            “You want some exercise?” Kyber sleepily asked, a grin slowly creasing his dark face.

            Kelen chuckled. “I would love a little more of the kind you have in mind, but you need to rest. Sandow says you’re mending nicely, but you’re not quite well enough to resume your duties.”

            The Seneecian sighed and rose up onto his elbows. Kelen placed a bare foot on his chest and shoved him back onto the padding.

            “Not so fast, big guy. Until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, you’re still in recovery mode.”

            “You need someone to escort you to the chamber.”

            “Excuse me?” she retorted. “Are you insinuating that I’m not capable of fending for myself between here and there? For your information, I’ve already made that trip a couple of times.” She tried to keep her tone light, yet still interject a thinly-veiled warning about her ability to defend herself. Apparently it worked. Kyber’s green eyes cleared slightly and one corner of his mouth crooked upward to reveal a gleaming canine. Clasping a knee to her chest, she snorted. “Don’t forget, I have one of Dox’s magical tube weapons, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

            “That weapon is only effective when you press it against your enemy,” he remarked. Now that she’d abdicated her side of the bed, he stretched out diagonally, taking up almost the entire pad. Kelen couldn’t resist dropping an eye at the semi-turgid erection between his thighs. Kyber noticed where her gaze was riveted.

            “Are you certain you want to forego more calisthenics of the Seneecian variety?” Reaching over, he cupped her breast, flicking the nipple with his thumb. His touch brought back the craving, and her need quickly became a hard, steady pounding between her thighs. She caved.

            “Oh, to hell with it. They can wait. It’s not like I have to answer roll call or anything.”

            Unable to resist, she threw a leg over his hip and lowered herself on top of him. Kyber held himself steady as her body engulfed his erection. As she took him all in, Kelen closed her eyes to savor his thickness.

            He pumped her. The sensation of his rigid length scraping her inner walls made her shiver, and she lifted herself slightly with her knees. “Do that again,” she whispered.

            He answered by grabbing her hips and grounding her into his crotch. As he lightly ran his claws down her sides, his erection eased into her, filling her fully before continuing.

Up, down. Steady, pounding, drilling over her sensitive nerves. Gradually getting faster as he kept her pinned to his groin.

            Kelen tried to move, but he kept her immobile. Unable to reciprocate, she shuddered at the relentless sensations overwhelming her. Her breathing quickened as the slow curl of an orgasm ghosted through her body.

            He shifted unexpectedly, sitting upright and grabbing her arms. He leaned her backwards, until her long hair brushed his legs. With her breasts exposed, he bent his head to take a nipple in his mouth.

            Kelen gasped at the feel of his unique tongue on her flesh. At the hard pull on the tightened bud and the gentle scrape of sharp teeth that made heat surge through her body. She squirmed as his erection continued to tunnel inside her, dragging across her clit with every thrust.

            He moved to her other breast, when she reached her peak. Gasping loudly, she tried to ride him using her knees. The result was a long, slow, gliding release that she wished would continue forever. At the same time, Kyber pressed as deeply inside her as he could and held himself there as his body found its release.

            Moments or minutes later, they relaxed and Kelen draped herself across his softly furred chest. Eyes shut, she listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. The strong heart of a strong man.

            “Kyber?”

            He grunted in reply.

            “Why won’t you accept the leadership? I’m sure the rest of my crew would accept you in that position if you chose to assume the position.”

            “I cannot as long as D’har Plat lives. Besides, I like the idea of all of us becoming our own governing body.”

            He raised a hand to her head and combed the tangles from her hair. The gesture soothed her and she found herself slipping back into sleep.

            She was on the verge of unconsciousness when someone began pounding on the door. The blows were loud and fast, which could only mean an emergency.

            Grabbing her uniform, she held it up in front of her as she hurried to open the panel. The door slid into the floor, revealing Jules standing there, his face white and his eyes wide. Her first thought was of their planned expedition up top, when she realized he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

            She held out a hand to him. “Whoa! What’s wrong?”

            “It’s Verin! He’s dead!”

            “Dead?” She realized she and Kyber had echoed the word together. She could hear her mate rising to his feet to join them.

            Over Jules’ shoulder, she noticed the others gathered in front of the apartment they were using as a brig and a coldness went through her.

            “What happened?” she demanded in a hard voice.

            “I went to relieve Verin but I couldn’t get him to open the door, so I went over to get Dox to let me in using that little gizmo he has to bypass the lock. That’s when I found him…dead.” Jules glanced up at the big Seneecian standing behind her.

            “What of the prisoners?” Kyber asked darkly.

            “Gone.” Jules swallowed hard. “They’re both gone. Jesus, Kyber. What do we do now?”

Chapter 3

Collusion

            Jules waited at the door while Kelen and Kyber went back inside to put on some clothes. He then led them to the apartment where the others were gathered. Brushing past the men, Kyber entered the room to find Sandow examining the body on the floor. Seeing the dead Seneecian, Kelen’s hand flew up to her mouth as she gasped and tried to keep her stomach from heaving.

            Blood was everywhere, splattered across the room and walls. More dark Seneecian blood pooled beneath the crew member where he’d fallen. From the slash marks and all, it was clear the man had fought for his life.

The doctor glanced up. “His throat was torn out,” the physician stated.

Kyber crouched down next to him. “Plat killed him. It is his method. He ripped out the throat to prevent Verin from calling out. Or, in the event of a miracle and Verin survived long enough for one of us to discover him, to keep him from saying anything.”

Over her initial shock, Kelen moved closer and went around behind the body. “It could be my imagination, but it looks like his arms were being held back when he was attacked.”

Kyber glanced around the room. “It is very possible Dayall assisted in the murder.” He waved a hand in the direction of the back door. “There are bloody footprints on the floor leading to the exit.”

“Verin should have never turned his back on them,” Mellori muttered from where the other crew members watched from the doorway.

“Not only did they get away, but now they’re armed,” Fullgrath noted. “The pistol’s missing.”

“If they took off through the back, where do you think they went?” Mellori inquired.

Kelen got down on her knees and peered more closely at Verin’s tightly closed hand. “Hey, guys, I don’t think they acted alone.”

“What makes you say that?” Kyber asked.

She pointed to the hand covered in black and gray hair. “He has a fistful of red fur in his hands. Plat has white fur.”

Kyber reached out, lifting the hand. The reddish tufts were unmistakable.

“Isup has red fur,” Massapa stated.

Sandow heaved a loud sigh. “Well, that explains a lot of things. Mostly likely how Verin got blindsided. If Isup entered through the back door, Verin may not have been aware of it.” The man narrowed his eyes at Kyber. “You guys move as silent as smoke.”

The phrase “fog on little cat feet” from an ancient poem came to mind. Kelen turned away to hide her smile.

Kyber nodded. “Even so, Verin would have sensed Isup coming up from behind him. My guess is the other two saw their opportunity and created a diversion. Once Isup overtook Verin, they joined in.” He glanced at the others standing nearby. “Who discovered the body?”

“I did,” Jules acknowledged. “I came to relieve him and found…this.”

Kelen gave her friend a sympathetic look. The man was still rattled by the event, especially in lieu of the fact that it could have been him lying on the floor and not Verin.

Kyber dipped his finger in the dark blood and tested it with his thumb. “It is tacky.”

“By my estimate, this must have occurred soon after Verin took his post,” the doctor commented. He proceeded to say something more, but Kelen was taken by the expression of horror that briefly crossed Kyber’s face when he glanced at her. He knew Verin’s shift had been scheduled after hers.

“What? Repeat that again?” the Seneecian responded.

“If they attacked Verin at the beginning of his duty, that means they have a good four hour lead on us. There’s no telling where they went.”

“True,” Kelen replied. “But we have an idea.”

Everyone gave her their full attention.

“Don’t you remember?” she asked, glancing from face to face before settling on Kyber. The moment their eyes met, she saw the spark.

“That chamber where Isup took you when he kidnapped you from the baths,” he answered

She half-shrugged. “Of course, I could be wrong, but it’s better than nothing at the moment. Unless someone has a better idea.”

“When Isup took you, he went through a warren of tunnels before emerging into that cavern, did he not?” Kyber asked. It wasn’t so much a question, but more to refresh his memory.

Kelen nodded. “I saw at least two other tunnel entrances in that place. Maybe three,” she reminded him.

“Which probably means Isup did not originally use the route we took to the baths to reach the cavern,” Tojun surmised. “He must have found a different route. One that bypassed the lakes.”

“Another back door route,” Jules muttered.

“God knows how many tunnels are really down here,” Fullgrath spoke up.

“Lots.”

The singular high-pitched voice was instantly recognizable. They all turned and gave way, allowing Dox to enter the room. The little man took one look at Verin and a mask of sadness covered his face before he turned to Kyber.

“Lots of tunnels.”

“Don’t tell me you have them all plotted and mapped,” Jules asked incredulously.

Dox shook his head. “No. Not yet. Too much to read. Too much to do. Too much to make.” It was then they noticed the odd little device he carried in his hand, which he handed to Sandow. “Here is your scanner.”

“Thank you, Dox.”

The little man turned to leave, when Kelen stopped him.

“What are you going to work on next, Dox?”

“Don’t know,” the young man told her with regret. “Don’t have much left to work with.”

She understood. He’d used most of what he’d managed to scavenge from their crashed ship and bring down here with them.

Kyber turned to the physician. “I think it is time we have a council meeting and discuss a few things.”

Jules protested. “Now?”

“But first, we must deal with Verin’s body,” Sandow said. “If you were on your ship, how would you handle his death? Is there a ceremony involved?”

“We would place his Calling on his body, then incinerate it. Lay it inside our engines so that his body feeds the ship, giving it his energy and
Kiall.
”

“Given our present circumstances, can you make do?”

“I will make a copy of his Calling,” Massapa volunteered.

Kyber nodded, accepting the offer. “He would like that.”

“How are you going to incinerate the body?” Mellori asked. “Set fire to it?”

“I’d think twice about starting a fire that big,” Cooter finally spoke up. “We’d have to go out into a large enough area to build a decent pyre, but then we’d have to worry about the creatures it could attract.”

“He has a point,” Gaveer agreed.

Jules raised a hand. “I have a suggestion. We lost Bertriol over the edge of this world. We never gave him a proper burial, but at the time we didn’t have that luxury. I propose we do the same for Verin. Then we can say words over them both. Just my two cents on the matter.”

Kelen noticed how her fellow crew members turned as one to give Cooter an accusing glare, since he was the one who had accidentally sent the man to his death. She spoke up, hoping to dispel the growing animosity. “I think it’s an excellent idea.” She looked at Kyber. “It would help us both to heal. Both Terrans and Seneecians.”