Brides of the Kindred(121)

Liv had a sudden memory of the way Baird had looked in the dreams she’d had of him. Chained to a wall with a huge screen above his head and wires coming out of his skin. “No!” She turned to run but Xairn caught her.

“None of that. You belong to the AllFather now. He will do with you as he wishes and you have no say in the matter.”

“I have a say. The Earth female belongs to me so take your fuckin’ hands off her.”

At first Liv thought the deep, familiar voice must be an illusion. A cruel trick either of the AllFather or her own mind. She wanted so much to see Baird, to be with him. But surely he wouldn’t be able to follow her here—would he? Slowly, almost afraid to look for fear he wouldn’t be real, she turned her head and stared down the broad black steps. For a moment she couldn’t see in the dim room and then…

It’s true—he’s really here. But how—?

“Lilenta.” Baird came bounding up the steps and looked at the ragged remains of her shirt. “Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. He said they were looking for some kind of mark.” She nodded at the AllFather’s son who was still holding her and looking at Baird impassively.

Baird glared into the red and black eyes. “Thought I told you to take your fuckin’ hands off her.”

Xairn withdrew his cold hands but didn’t move an inch. “You are very bold for one who has so lately tasted the AllFather’s mercy.”

“Mercy, huh?” Baird spat at his feet. “That’s what I think of your mercy. I’m here to take Olivia home.” He took off his red uniform shirt and slipped it around her shoulders.

“And how do you propose to do that? You are one and we are many.” Red pupils narrowing to slits, Xairn put a hand to his side, fingering some kind of weapon Liv hadn’t noticed before. She tensed but then the AllFather was there, gliding silently toward them.

“Leave him. I sssensed him coming from afar. He has an interesting proposal.”

“His royal ugliness is right.” Baird glared at the AllFather. “I have a bargain for you—me for her.”

“What? Baird, no!” Liv put a hand on his arm but he shook her off and continued talking.

“You have a custom—krik-ka`re. The willing sacrifice of one mind-life for another. I wish to invoke it now.”

Xairn raised one black eyebrow. “It has been some years since we received such a request. You have been studying our culture.”

“If that’s what you call the twisted paths of pain your kind follow then, yes. I have.”

The AllFather stepped closer to Baird, its red eyes glowing. “The traditional time of krik-ka`re is just three days. Why ssshould I give up a tender morsel like this little Earth female for only three days of your pain?”

Baird lifted his chin. “You said yourself last time I was your guest that my pain had a unique flavor. But you never got all of it—you never broke through my shields completely.”

“And? Ssso?”

“So this time you won’t have to.” Baird swallowed but his face remained impassive. “I’ll give myself willingly. That means no shields, no attempt to block you out. You can have whatever you want with no resistance from me.”

“No!” Liv tugged at his arm but he only shook his head briefly and looked back at the AllFather.

“What do you say?” he demanded.

Xairn was the one who answered him. “You realize, of course, what you are offering. It is not just your life we are speaking of here but your sanity. No one has ever withstood the AllFather’s complete and undivided attention for such a length of time and emerged with their mind intact.”

“I know that.” Baird gave a curt nod at Liv. “She’s worth it—to me anyway. To you she’s nothing but another energy cell, one you’ll use up and throw out in a matter of hours.”

“He presents a compelling case.” The AllFather sounded thoughtful. “I do find myself most hungry after the unsatisfying taste of the female’s mind.”

“But her memories,” Xairn objected. “You said they should be sifted in order to find the one we seek.”

The AllFather made a dismissive gesture that left a cloud of dark smoke-like particles boiling in the air. “There are other ways of finding the one. I am inclined to let her go if the warrior agrees to abide by the laws of krik-ka`re.”

“I agree,” Baird said at once. “Just let me see her to the shuttle where my brother waits and swear you’ll disable your magnetic field long enough for them to get away. Then you can do anything you want to me.”