“It is my father’s personal power—his ability to get into your mind and control you—that we need to be most concerned with,” Xairn said. “If the rest of you will help me clear a path, I’ll try to engage him.”
“We can’t just let you fight him by yourself,” Deep objected.
Xairn shook his head. “You have to. You see, I have some of the same powers.” He took a deep breath. “I can withstand him as the rest of you cannot. At least, I hope I can.”
“Then we’ll do all we can to see that you have a clear shot at the AllFather,” Sylvan said decisively. “But if we see you struggling and there’s anything we can do, we can’t promise to hold back.”
“True.” Deep nodded. “Kat cares deeply for Lauren—she’d never forgive me if I didn’t do everything I could to be sure the mate of her friend returns safely.”
“That goes double for us,” Baird growled. “Olivia would have my hide if I let the mate of her kin die.”
Xairn felt a surge of gratitude for the strong males beside him, pledging their help and support. Here was the same feeling he’d experienced with Lauren, but in a different form. Family. Brothers. Maybe after this is over I can really become one of them. It was a hope he couldn’t help cherishing. After his lonely, cold existence on the Fathership, the idea of having people to care about, who also cared about him, was certainly tempting. But in order to get to that point, he had to confront his father first.
“I thank you,” he said again, bowing formally. “And if any of you has a weapon I could borrow, I would be grateful for that as well. Mine is completely out of charge.”
“Will this do?” Sylvan produced a black piece of metal that was curved on one end. “It’s a cryo-knife,” he explained as Xairn examined it. “Not as much range as a projectile weapon, obviously, but it’s good for close work. Plunge it to the hilt in your enemy’s chest and you’ll flash-freeze his heart and all his internal organs in a tenth of a second.”
“Intriguing—I’ve never seen a weapon like it before,” Xairn murmured. He thumbed the switch at the bottom and a thin, ice blue blade made of pure energy hummed out of the curved end. “Where did you get it?”
“It’s an ancient weapon developed on my home world,” Sylvan said. “We know a lot about cold on Tranq Prime. This particular cryo-knife was carried by my father until he passed it on to me.”
“Then I am indeed honored to carry it into battle.” Xairn nodded gravely and turned the knife off again. “If you’re all ready, I will to pilot a course for the Fathership.”
“Lead on.” Baird grinned and pounded him on the shoulder. “I’ve been spoiling for a fight for months now. I know it makes our females nervous, but a male needs to go to battle sometimes. It’s in our blood.”
“I agree.” Sylvan smiled and put an arm around Baird’s shoulders. “Let’s go knock some heads.”
“Forget knocking heads.” Deep gave him a bloodthirsty grin. “Let’s kill the bastards.”
His twin brother nodded. “We will spill their blood like water.”
“We’re in agreement then,” Xairn said. “Let’s go!”
The approach to the Fathership didn’t take long and, as Xairn had expected, the docking bay doors slid wide with no trouble at all. His father was welcoming him home—like a spider welcoming a nervous fly. But I’m not nervous, he told himself as a cold cloak of certainty dropped over him. I’m here because I need to be—this confrontation has been a long time coming—maybe my entire life.
He felt the males behind him tense as the small Kindred ship settled in the huge, empty space. Behind them, the docking bay door slid silently shut and then the entry level access irised open revealing…
“Nothing,” Baird said, breaking the tense silence. “There’s nobody there.”
“Where are all the Scourge warriors?” Deep wanted to know.
Xairn opened the ship’s door. “There aren’t many of us left—not true Scourge anyway. We’ve been dying out for years now, as you know, and the only way we have to replenish our race is by growing soldiers in our flesh tanks. They’re like automen—poor copies of a twisted reality. They aren’t smart or fast but there are many of them.”
“Not here, there aren’t,” Baird muttered as they all descended from the ship.
“Or if they’re here, they’re hiding,” Sylvan put in.
“Just wait,” Xairn said grimly. “Now that we’re inside the ship my father will know I’m not alone. We had all better be prepared to fight soon.”