TherianPrey (25 page)

“Information is power. Any fool knows that. Whoever controls
the flow of information can change the course of the conflict.”

“What conflict? I thought we were working toward a common
goal.”

He spun her back around and she heard the distinct click of
his zipper. “We better be.” He nudged her legs apart again and lifted her hips
toward him, effortlessly finding her entrance with his erect cock.

She closed her eyes and braced for the coming storm. He’d
been aggressive before, but this time felt different. Anger and mistrust
propelled each punishing thrust. He moved in her and against her without care
or emotion. This was what she’d expected the first time, yet she had no idea
which approach she found more arousing.

* * * * *

“There is something I’d like to show you before you agree to
be defined.” Erin reached out and took Carissa’s hand. “It will only take a few
minutes, but I think it’s important.”

Carissa took a deep breath, trying to regulate her surging
emotions. Ava was safe. She wasn’t out there running from the hunters. She’d
found a secure place to hide. “All right.”

Erin smiled at Quinn and said, “We’ll be right back.” Which
was a polite way of telling him he wasn’t invited.

Without further explanation, Erin led Carissa through the
mudroom and down the stairs. The passageway was cool and slightly eerie. Even
with the overhead lights, the tunnel felt claustrophobic to Carissa.

“Isn’t the control center that way?” Carissa asked as Erin
turned down a different tunnel.

“It is, but that’s not where we’re going.”

With no markings of any kind, it was a wonder anyone could
find their way around in the underground labyrinth. Erin walked with purposeful
strides, obviously sure of her direction. They finally came to a metal door
that was secured with a palm scanner. The modern technology seemed extremely
out of place in the primitive surroundings.

Erin pressed her hand to the scanner pad and a beam of light
passed over her palm. The lock made a soft popping sound as it disengaged. Erin
heaved the door open and motioned Carissa inside the shadowy room.
Motion-activated lights illuminated the interior as she stepped across the
threshold.

She took two steps into the room and stopped, paralyzed by wonder
and confusion. Enclosed cabinets lined three of the walls, making the room
appear more museum than bunker. Each cabinet was fitted with directional
lights, showcasing its contents. A square table and two chairs arranged in the
far corner were the only furniture.

“What is this place?” She walked along the shelves, admiring
the eclectic assortment of artifacts. Paintings, statues, jewelry and numerous
leather-bound books. “Is everything as old as it looks?”

“Yes.” Erin looked around with obvious pride but offered no
further information.

“Shouldn’t these things be in a museum?”

“This is a private museum dedicated to preserving the
history of the Omni Prime. I call it the vault.” She motioned Carissa toward
the case on their left. “Everything is arranged chronologically and the story
of each item is logged in the Historians’ journals.”

The oldest item was an exquisite gold amulet intricately
inlaid with amethyst, turquoise and a reddish stone, perhaps coral or jasper.
At the center was a woman seated on a throne, holding a flail and crook. To her
left stood a being with the head of a cat and the body of a man. To her right
stood a being part bird and part woman.

Deep inside her belly Carissa felt an odd stirring. Her
fingers tingled and heat spread over her skin. “Is this Egyptian?”

“According to the journals, it belonged to Cleopatra.”
Carissa snapped her gaze to Erin, expecting to see humor in the older woman’s
eyes. But Erin looked entirely serious. “I had the chain carbon dated and the
result supports the claim.”

“This piece alone must be worth a fortune.” The amulet
seemed to pulse with energy and Carissa couldn’t drag her gaze away.

“Every piece in this room is priceless. That’s why so few
are allowed to know this room exists. I’m the Historian, entrusted with the
secrets of the Omni Prime.”

That caught her attention. She turned her head toward Erin
and asked, “Entrusted by whom?”

“My mother.” Erin stood in the center of the room, hands
buried in the pockets of her cardigan. “As the Omni Prime runs in your family,
the Historian has been passed down from mother to daughter along my bloodline.
My mother was a midwife and I would often help her with the deliveries. When I
was fifteen, we encountered Maggie. She was quite old to have a child, so my
mother was concerned that the birth would not go smoothly.”

“Wait a minute. You were fifteen when my mother was born?”
She looked at Erin’s gently lined face and shook her head. “That would mean
you’re pushing sixty. There’s no way you’re that old.”

“We aren’t human, Carissa. You must stop judging us by their
standards.”

“You’re right.” This would be so much easier if Erin were
just relaying interesting historical tidbits, but everything she said directly
related to the decision facing Carissa. “Please go on.”

“Your mother was born without incident, but my mother
recognized Maggie’s untapped potential. Maggie had already been defined, so the
opportunity to create a true Therian was lost. Even so, my mother showed Maggie
the journals and they worked together to maximize Maggie’s abilities.”

Accepting the information with a thoughtful nod, Carissa
turned her attention back to the artifacts. Thousands of years of history had
been encapsulated in these cases. It would be fascinating to go through the
journals and read about each one, but somehow she didn’t think that’s what Erin
had in mind.

“Who is that?” She pointed to the portrait of a young woman
dressed in a medieval gown. Her blonde hair was mostly concealed by a veil and
the pain in her deep-blue eyes made her look sad. Again Carissa felt a
connection, an elemental awareness as she gazed at the painting.

“Her name was Esmee. She was forcibly defined during her
first season, which left her timid and emotionally damaged.”

“But wasn’t her mother the reigning Omni Prime?” Shock
ricocheted through Carissa. “How in the world would she have allowed that to
happen?”

“She didn’t ‘allow’ anything to happen. This was almost a
thousand years ago. People were barbaric. Esmee was captured and violated
before her parents realized she was in the hands of one of their enemies.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disrupt the story.”

“It’s upsetting. I understand how you feel. Unfortunately,
the story grows even worse as it moves along. Are you sure you want to hear the
rest?” Carissa nodded, so Erin continued. “Esmee became ward of the Prime
Council when her parents were killed some years later. She was twenty-two, but
she had yet to learn to control any of her powers. They took advantage of her
weakness and imprisoned her. They were afraid to murder her outright, but they
made sure she only had one child.”

“That’s horrible.” Carissa looked back at the painting and
shivered. The energy emanating from this piece was different than the amulet.
It was darker, quiet yet menacing. “How did they justify her captivity?”

“They claimed the death of her parents had left her touched
and unbalanced. They convinced everyone it was for her own good. Then the
strongest among them got her pregnant and four months after she gave birth she
‘jumped’ from the tower in which she was kept. The Historian during her time
was never sure if she was overcome by their abuse or if she was pushed.”

“What did the Prime councilors hope to achieve by abusing
her?”

“Power. They were tired of having their decisions questioned
by a female, so they seized control. And Esmee was only the beginning of their
treachery.”

“What else did they do?”

“Esmee’s daughter was raised by her father, who just
happened to be a member of the Prime Council. They controlled every aspect of
her life and they twisted the very nature of her existence. They told the rest
of the Therian nation that the power of the Omni Prime was lost forever when
Esmee took her own life. The daughter was defined during her first season as
well, but they gave her a single animal nature. This muted her power and
disrupted the natural order. She lived and died with no idea what she had been
destined to become.”

The story was tragic. Carissa could only imagine how
helpless and hopeless both women must have felt. But she couldn’t lose herself
in their sorrow. Erin was telling her these stories for a reason. “That’s why
there’s no Omni Prime today.”

“Exactly. Esmee’s Historian saw the corruption of the Prime
Council and knew her life was forfeit. She packed up the artifacts and the journals
and went into hiding. She realized her only hope of survival was to teach her
daughters in secret and wait for the right opportunity to reclaim what the
Prime Council had destroyed.”

“But if Esmee was dead and her daughter’s potential
destroyed, there was nothing left for the Historian to reclaim.”

“If something is meant to be, no power on earth can truly
destroy it.” Erin sounded as if she believed every word. “Fate will always find
a way.”

“Was Maggie the only one in recent history who has been defined
with more than one animal nature?” That was the crux of the issue. Erin wanted
her to attempt a multi-animal definition. The thought of transforming into any
animal was terrifying, much less allowing her body to morph into an entire zoo!

Erin paused, her expression intense yet inscrutable. “The
opportunity had come and gone by the time we found Maggie, but there was no
doubt she was meant to be an Omni Prime.”

“Why didn’t you tell my mother all of this, give her the
opportunity to fulfill her destiny?” She hadn’t meant to sound so sarcastic,
but all this talk of fate was unnerving.

“I did. I brought her down here and told her everything I
knew about the Omni Prime. She thought it was an amusing story but refused to
believe it was real. Her attitude concerned me. The journals state that a true
Omni Prime can sense the ancient energy.” Her gaze narrowed to gleaming emerald
slits as she asked, “What do you feel when you look at these items?”

Carissa’s heartbeat spiked and she slowly licked her lips.
“If my mother wasn’t a true Omni Prime, how can I be?”

“Your bloodline holds the potential, but the Omni Prime is a
divine gift. Not everyone is capable. Not everyone is worthy.”

Energy pulsed around Carissa, making her antsy and agitated.
“The Therian nation has survived for a thousand years without an Omni Prime.
Why attempt this now?”

“There are rogues in any society, those who refuse to follow
the rules. We have always managed them in the past, but as it did in Esmee’s
era, the corruption has reached the Prime Council. If their misdeeds go
unpunished this time, I’m honestly afraid our society will implode. If that
happens, humans are sure to be swept into the conflict. Can you imagine the
destruction that would follow in the wake of that partnership?”

Part of Carissa hoped Erin was being melodramatic. Humans
didn’t need any help being destructive. “What exactly would I have to do?”

“Definition need not be a sexual act. Most Therians have
forgotten that fact. Heightened emotions and intense sensations are needed to
seal the bond, but that doesn’t mean you have to have sex with each
participant.” Erin unlocked one of the cases and took the top book off the
stack of leather-bound tomes. She placed it on the table and reverently opened
the book. “Have a seat. Tell me what you see.”

Carissa slipped onto one of the chairs and turned the book
toward her. The flowing script resembled calligraphy, yet she didn’t recognize
any of the letters. “It’s beautiful. What language do the Historians use?”

Rather than answer, Erin carefully turned the page. Her gaze
never left Carissa’s face.

Hot, tingling currents of energy swirled around Carissa’s
body. The tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickled and her eyes
began to burn. She rubbed her eyes, confused by the odd sensation.

“Don’t fight it.” Erin suddenly sounded very far away.
“Absorb as much as you can. Let the ancients guide you.”

Mesmerized by the shimmering letters, Carissa stared at the
Historian’s journal. The burning in her eyes intensified and an instinct made
her place her fingers on the edge of the page. The text undulated, rearranged
then stilled, settling into familiar words and phrases.

Carissa gasped and looked at Erin. “How did you do that? I
can read it now.”

“What does it say?”

“It’s a physical description of me and Ava.”

“Exactly right.”

“How did you make it legible?” Carissa persisted.

“I did nothing,” Erin assured with a beaming smile. “All the
Omni Primes who came before you are preparing to welcome you home. Don’t be
afraid. They will not hurt you.”

That was the only warning Carissa received. Light burst from
the book, surrounding her in a warm, golden glow. She tried to draw her hands
away from the fragile pages, but she couldn’t move. A presence more powerful
than she’d ever imagined stabbed into her mind. Images and emotions, countless
lifetimes of pleasure and pain.

She rocked back in the chair then toppled sideways as the
vision took control. Erin steadied her, minimizing the impact as Carissa
reached the cold concrete floor. The nauseating stream of information flowing
into her mind made communication impossible.

Struggling against the transfer only intensified the pain,
so Carissa surrendered to the flow. She heard Erin rush to the door and panic
jolted through the vision-induced haze.
Don’t leave me
! The plea echoed
through her mind, but never passed her lips.

“Eli, it’s Erin. Call my house and tell Quinn to get his ass
down to the vault as quickly as possible.” After a short pause, she said, “If
Quinn doesn’t know the way, Ian can lead him. Just get him here!”