Sought(125)

Kat put a hand on her hip. “Do me a favor and stop acting like I have one foot in the grave, okay? For your information I feel perfectly fine. In fact I don’t have a bit of pain and—”

At that moment the alpha guard sat straight up and began laughing. The black knife blade still protruded from the center of its massive chest—there was no way it could still be alive. But somehow it was—or at least it was moving. The high, eerie cackle that came from its dead, lipless mouth froze the blood in Kat’s veins.

“Of course you do not have pain yet, sssweet little human,” the thing said. “That comesss later, after the weaknesss has ssset in. After the green linesss reach your heart and delve deep to find your very sssoul…”

“Oh my God!” Kat gasped as the reanimated Alpha Guard began to get up. “It’s alive. How the hell—?”

“The AllFather is directing it, just as he was before.” Quickly, Lock scooped her into his arms. “Shoot it, Deep, and let’s be on our way. We’ve overstayed our welcome here.”

“I think you’re right.” Pulling his weapon, Deep took careful aim and released a bright red beam of energy.

The deadly laser blast took off the monstrous Alpha guard’s head as easily as a knife slicing through cheese. It fell from the broad shoulders and rolled on the ground at their feet, the eyes still blinking and the lipless mouth still laughing. “Die,” it whispered, so faintly Kat could barely hear it. “Sssoon you ssshall die, little human…sssoon…sssoon…” Then the guard’s body fell to its knees and collapsed slowly, its dead hands still reaching out, the thick fingers grasping the air.

“Crap!” A chill swept over her and Kat felt like she might be sick. “That’s…that’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe it just kept moving and talking like that even after…” She shook her head, unable to finish.

“Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here!” Deep led the way, his hand still pressed to his side.

“But Lauren!” Kat protested. “You promised we’d look for her!”

Lock turned reluctantly and then they saw three more of the massive guards lumbering toward them. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he told her. “But we must go now. You and Deep are both wounded. I cannot protect you both and fight off three more guards on my own.”

They ran through the ships on the battlefield and crossed the polluted beach, the oily brown sand crunching under the twins’ booted feet. The guards behind them were gaining rapidly, probably because none of them was A—wounded or B—carrying a plus-sized woman, Kat thought, staring over Lock’s shoulder as he ran. Deep staggered along beside them, his face white and one hand fisted at his side. There was blood leaking down his leg in a dark rivulet. God, she hoped all this running wasn’t making his wound worse, though she didn’t see how it could possibly be helping any. She still didn’t even know how he could be functioning after receiving such a serious injury—did Twin Kindred have extra special healing ability? Lock had said something about self sealing organs but what did that even mean?

Finally they reached their ship and piled inside. “I’ll pilot,” Lock said, sliding into the driver’s seat. For once, Deep said nothing. He only nodded and settled himself carefully in one of the other seats. Kat did the same and started to buckle herself in. She felt terrible about Lauren but Lock and Deep didn’t seem overly concerned. Maybe they’re right, she comforted herself. Maybe Xairn took her with him and he’s so in love with her that he’ll take care of her no matter what happens.

She hoped so. It was going to be really hard to face Liv and Sophie and tell them that she had found their long-lost cousin…and then lost her again. Then again, it was going to be hard to tell them the other news too.

But surely I won’t die—not of a tiny little scratch! She touched her wounded cheek gingerly with her fingertips and winced at the sting.

“I’m sorry.”

Kat looked up to see Deep watching her with a look of remorse in his black eyes. “What?” she asked.

“I said I’m sorry. All this is my fault. If I hadn’t insisted we come here, none of it would have happened. You wouldn’t have been cut and—”

“That’s true,” Kat interrupted, refusing to discuss her impending doom. “But we were looking for traces of Lauren too, so the mission wasn’t a complete wash.” She frowned. “I still don’t understand what happened in the psychic knife though.”