Sought...Book 3 in the Brides of the Kindred series (44 page)

“Kat…” Sophie and Liv reached for her again
but she shook her head and took a deep breath.

“Nope, not gonna cry. I am
not
going
to spend the time I have left whining.” She squared her shoulders.
“Hang on, I’ll be out in a minute and then we’re going to paint the
town red. Or the Mother ship. Or whatever.”

As the door shut behind her, Sophie looked
at her sister. Olivia shrugged. What could they do but comply with
what might be Kat’s last request?
It’s so like her,
Sophie
thought, listening to the determined sounding humming coming from
behind the door as Kat got dressed.
Not to complain or waste
time crying. She’s so much braver than I could ever be.
It was
one of the reasons she loved Kat—why she and Liv
both
loved
her. But to see her friend’s courage tested in such an extreme way
was almost beyond what Sophie could stand.

Liv must have seen the look on her face
because she squeezed Sophie’s hand. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s
hard.”

“It’s
awful,”
Sophie whispered back.
“Poor Kat.”

“She doesn’t want us to pity her.” Liv
sniffed and straightened her shoulders. “So we won’t. We’re going
to make this the best time she ever had—however long we have to do
it.”

“You’re right.” Sophie blotted her own eyes
and tried to be brave. After all, how could they deny their
friend’s request to have a little fun before she died?
But
please, God, don’t really let her die. Don’t take Kat away from
us,
she prayed fervently.
Let Deep find the solution, let
him bring back hope that everything is going to be okay.

Then Kat came out of her room, dressed and
smiling and Sophie forced herself to smile back. Everything was
going to be all right because it
had
to be. Losing Kat was
unthinkable so she wasn’t going to think about it.

Not yet. Not until she had to.

“I am sorry, Warrior, but I can do nothing
for you.” Mother L’rin stood wreathed in the pink and gold and
green plants of the Healing Garden, looking almost like one of them
herself. She had agreed to see him on short notice which was good
since Deep hadn’t intended to wait for anyone. He’d folded space
and gotten back to his home planet in record time—less than an hour
from when he’d left the Mother ship. And now it seemed his entire
trip had all been in vain.

“Please.” He struggled to keep his voice
even. “Please, Mother L’rin, I’ll do anything.
Anything.
Look…” He tore off his shirt, baring his back for her. “Use the
whip. Lash me until my skin peals from my body—I don’t care. Only
please
heal
her.”

She spread her wrinkled hands. “I have
already told you—I cannot.”

Deep wanted to tear his hair in frustration.
“Please don’t punish Kat for
my
arrogance. I know I have
been disrespectful and rude and foolish…”

“You have been all those things.” Mother
L’rin nodded gravely. “But worse than anything else, you have
blasphemed against the Goddess. It was
she
who put you and
your brother together with the lady Kat. It was
her
will you
broke when you cut the bond she had forged between the three of
you.”

“Then I’ll go to the sacred grove,” Deep
began pacing wildly. “I’ll get on my knees and I’ll pray for
forgiveness.”

“You may do that if you wish and I am
certain that the Goddess will forgive you—she is merciful in all
things,” the old healer said quietly. “However, that does not mean
she will heal your lady. Some things cannot be undone, Deep.”

“But there has to be a way. There
has
to.” He fell to his knees before her. “Please, Mother L’rin—you
healed her before. I know you can heal her again. I am
begging
you.”

“
I
did not heal her,” she corrected
him gently.
“You
did. You and Lock. By forging the soul bond
with her in the first place.”

“And then we cut it.” Deep slumped back on
his heels. “Or I should say,
I
cut it. Or insisted on having
it cut.”

“That you did.” Mother L’rin nodded. “There
is nothing you can do for soul poisoning but dilute the poison. If
you and Lock both were still bonded to the Lady Kat, you might have
been able to save her by completing the bond and each taking a
little of the taint into yourselves.”

Deep felt like an iron fist was gripping his
heart. “So…we might have saved her if I had not cut the bond
between us?”

“It is not certain but you would have had a
chance. Now, I fear…there is none. No chance.”

“No chance,” Deep echoed. “Gods, what a fool
I am! In trying to save her I have damned her instead. Oh, Kat…”
Rage and frustration rose within him along with a grief too
terrible to be born. He had condemned the woman he loved to die.
Then he had a new fear. “But Lock still
is
bonded to her.
Does…does that mean they both will die?”

Mercifully, Mother L’rin shook her head. “If
what you have told me is true, the bond between them is not
complete. And it never can be.”

Deep frowned. “Why not? Other than the fact
of Kat being…being poisoned?”

“The poison cannot seep though an incomplete
or partial bond,” the old healer said. “And a Twin Kindred cannot
form a complete bond on his own without his brother. Be at peace,
Deep—you will not lose your twin as well as your lady.”

“I’ve already lost him. As surely as I’ve
lost Kat. Lock hates me now and I don’t blame him.” Deep looked
down at his hands. “Gods, how could I have been so stupid?
So…so…”

“Prideful,” Mother L’rin finished for him.
“You chose to withdraw yourself from the will of the Goddess. You
refused to trust her when she brought a new female into your
life.”

“You didn’t see her lying there,” Deep said
in a low voice. “Miranda. Just lying there, her eyes open, staring
at nothing. Dead. And all because of me.”

“I know about your past.” Mother’s L’rin’s
voice was unexpectedly gentle. “It was a tragedy. But far sadder is
the fact that you have cut yourself off so thoroughly that you
could not see the lady Kat for what she truly is—a courageous
female who would never take her own life.”

“She may wish to if the soul poisoning
progresses much farther,” Deep said grimly. “I’m told the pain can
be intense.” He pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes. “And it’s
all my doing. Don’t you see, Mother? This is why I wanted to cut
her from me in the first place—to spare her pain. But my plan
backfired and made things worse. So much
worse.”

“I’m sorry there is nothing I can do for you
or for that sweet child you and Lock both care for so much.” Mother
L’rin touched his shoulder gently. “Go home and make your peace
with her and with your brother before the end.”

“Neither Kat or Lock is going to want to
make peace with me.” Lock took a deep breath and stood up. “I bring
them nothing but tragedy and pain—as I have always done.”

“You are a dark twin,” Mother L’rin said.
“Your path is not the easy one, Deep.”

“No, it is not.” Slowly he turned to go. “I
have been the worst kind of fool. Truly, I should be the one who is
dying—not my little Kat. If I could give my life for hers, I
would.”

“It is not for you to say who lives and who
dies,” Mother L’rin said. “That is a task for the Goddess.”

“Maybe so,” Deep murmured. “But even the
Goddess must recognize justice when she sees it.” He knew now what
he had to do. He might not be able to heal Kat or stop her demise,
but at least he could make a proper atonement for the role he had
played in her death. It was only right.

“I’m sorry, Grandma. Really sorry.” Kat
wiped away a tear that she couldn’t help shedding. As much as she
was determined to stay positive, it was impossible to tell the
woman who had raised her that she was about to die without tearing
up.

“And you’re sure you can’t come back to
Earth and see me?” Her grandmother asked in a quavering voice. She
was crying too but also oddly calm.

She’s still in shock,
Kat thought.
She can’t really believe it. Well that makes two of us.

“I’m sorry Mrs. O’Connor, I know you want to
see Kat but she needs to stay here on the Mother ship,” Liv
answered for her. “She needs to have access to the special drugs
that will help when she…when the poison…drugs that help,” she ended
lamely.

Grandma nodded her silver-haired head. “I
understand. And if you truly have such a short time, I won’t keep
you. But I will say this—I love you, Kat. More than I can say.”

“I love you too, Grandma. Thanks for always
being there for me after Mom and Dad split up.”

“They love you too, you know—your parents,”
Grandma said. “They just never knew how to show it.”

That’s because they were too busy hating
each other to show that they loved me.
But Kat didn’t say it
aloud—there was no point in bringing up bad memories at this point.
“You tell them what’s happening and that I love them, okay?” she
said.

Her grandmother nodded. “I don’t know how
but…yes, I’ll try.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” Kat felt like she was
about to burst into tears and she was afraid if she really started
bawling, she wouldn’t be able to stop. She didn’t want to spend her
last two days having a pity party. “I, uh, think our time is up,”
she lied gently. “There are other people waiting to use the viewing
room.”

“Of course.” Her Grandmother blew her a
kiss. “Remember, Kat, I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

“Thanks Grandma. Goodbye.” Kat watched as
her grandmother’s image faded to a single bright dot in the middle
of the viewscreen and then went completely black. Olivia, sitting
on her right hand looked grim and Sophie, on her left, was openly
sobbing. “Okay, guys, come on,” she said with an effort. “Let’s get
going. We can’t paint the town red of we’re crying our eyes
out.”

“I’m sorry,” Sophie whispered brokenly,
trying to control her tears. “I just…don’t want to lose you,
Kat.”

“I don’t want to lose me either,” Kat said
grimly. “But I’m not lost yet so if you don’t mind—”

Suddenly the viewscreen popped back to life.
“Forgive me for interrupting your privacy,” said the Blood Kindred
warrior, whose face had appeared on the screen. “But there is an
incoming call for Miss Waterhouse from a woman who says she is your
aunt. Do you care to accept it?”

“Oh my God! Aunt Abby! That detective must
have told her what we said about Lauren.” Sophie turned to Liv.
“Should we take it?”

Liv frowned. “It’s likely to take a little
while and we might not have much time to, er, have fun. Maybe we
should ask her to call back later.”

“No.” Kat swiped at her eyes and shook her
head. “Take the call. I want to talk to her.”

“All right, if you’re sure…” Liv looked up
at the Blood Kindred communications officer. “Fine, we’ll take
it.”

“As you wish.” His image disappeared to be
immediately replaced by the distraught face of Liv and Sophie’s
Aunt Abby.

“Detective Rast told me that Lauren’s been
taken by the Scourge,” she said without preamble. “He said you knew
all along. How could you lie to me, Olivia, Sophia? How
could
you?”

“We didn’t want to,” Sophie said at once.
“But we thought it might be easier for you to just think she was
missing rather than to know…to know…”

“That the Scourge had her,” Liv finished for
her. “Aunt Abby, we’re sorry, really we are. We thought not knowing
would be better than, well, knowing.”

“And you’re sure they have her?” Aunt Abby
looked almost wild. “Truly certain?”

“Beyond the shadow of a doubt,” Liv said
quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“They don’t have her any more.” Kat spoke
for the first time, stepping forward. “At least, the AllFather
doesn’t.”

“What do you mean? What do you know?” Liv
and Sophie’s aunt demanded wildly.

“I don’t know exactly where she is right now
but I saw Lauren just a few hours ago and she was fine,” Kat
assured her. “She hadn’t been molested or abused in any way—just
held prisoner.”

“But where? Where are they holding her?”

“She was on the Scourge home world when I
saw her.” Kat shifted uncomfortably. “But I
think
she
escaped.” She wished again that they could have made a more
thorough search for Lauren before leaving the deserted planet.

“You
think?
So then she’ll be coming
home soon?” The hope in Aunt Abby’s eyes—the same clear amber as
Lauren’s—nearly broke Kat’s heart.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I do know she
had a protector—one of the Scourge was taking care of her, making
sure she was safe and no one hurt her. We…had to leave the planet
in a hurry but we saw another ship take off right before we went. I
think
he and Lauren must have been aboard.”

“But will he bring her home? Will I see her
again?” Aunt Abby demanded.

Kat bit her lip. “I wish I could answer your
questions but I really can’t. All I know is that Lauren seemed safe
and well when I saw her and she did say that Xairn—the Scourge who
was keeping her safe—had promised to take her home.”

Aunt Abby took a deep breath and nodded.
“All right, thank you…”

“Kat,” Kat supplied.

“Thank you, Kat. At least I know she was
well and healthy a few hours ago. If only I knew where she was and
if she was heading home…” She blotted her eyes and looked at Sophie
and Liv. “If you find out anything else will you please,
please
let me know, girls? Lauren is my daughter, I’d like
to be kept in the loop.”

“Of course, Aunt Abby.” Olivia looked
chagrinned. “And we’re really sorry for not telling you in the
first place. “We just thought…well, obviously we thought
wrong.”