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  “Khalla” that’s what he called me. What does that mean? And why should it make me so precious—someone to protect rather than kill? Unless he really did want to kill her after all and was just trying to trick her into coming with him.

  But then, how had he known about her eyes? And about the other inside her? Why had he thought she was from Rageron instead of Earth? Most of all, why had touching him affected her so strangely? She could still feel the tingle of his hand on hers, could still remember the way her body had reacted so strongly to that simple touch—how he had awakened a part of her she’d thought was dead and buried.

  Emily sighed and turned over. There were a lot of questions she was probably never going to get the answers to. At least, if she was lucky. Because she certainly didn’t want the big Kindred coming after her again.

  She had almost fallen asleep completely when she heard a soft, high-pitched whining sound right outside her bedroom window.

  “What in the world?” She sat up at once, heart pounding as the sound came again. What was it? It sounded for all the world like a lost puppy but could it be some kind of a trick?

  Sliding out of bed, she dropped to all fours and crawled across the darkened floor to the bedroom window, where she twitched the shade to one side so she could see out. She felt ridiculous acting like a character in a spy movie but she didn’t want to take any chances.

  The window opened onto her small back yard which was currently bathed in shadows. At first she couldn’t see anything but then the soft, pitiful whining came again and she thought she saw the glint of moonlight off a pair of big, sad eyes. Was there a puppy out there? And was it hurt? It certainly sounded hurt.

  Emily knew she shouldn’t let herself be affected but she couldn’t help it—the noise tore at her heart. She was a confirmed dog lover herself and her ancient Lab, Chewy, had just died a few months back. Emily had owned him for years and it had hurt her dreadfully to lose him. Still, in the back of her mind she had known she would eventually get another dog. Probably not a puppy—they were a lot of work. She’d been intending to go to the shelter when she was ready and find a young rescue dog that needed a home and some love.

  The whining sounded again and Emily sighed. Okay, maybe a puppy was in the cards after all. Chewy had come to her the same way—showing up in her yard with scruffy, matted fur and a huge laceration along one side that left a scar. It looked like some asshole had simply tossed the dog out of a moving car and left him on the side of the road to die. Emily had taken him to the vet and cleaned him up and they had been inseparable after that. Maybe fate was taking a hand again—sending her a new puppy to care for to make up for the generally all around crappy day she’d had.

  Emily hoped so anyway.

  As she went around to the back door, she heard the Kindred’s voice in her head again. “Have you not heard a word I said to you? Someone wants you dead. Every minute you’re out here alone in this unprotected place you’re in danger.”

  But I’m not unprotected—there’s a policeman right outside in my driveway! That nice Officer Lawry. He’d introduced himself personally and Emily had made him a cup of coffee to keep off the chill of the cold night. He was out there right now, sitting in his squad car making sure no one and nothing could hurt her.

  Still, the big Kindred’s words gave her pause. Danger, whispered a voice in her head—the voice of the other.

  Leave me alone, Emily told it. I’m fine—I’ll be fine if you’ll just go away and leave me alone!

  Danger! insisted the other again.

  Emily hesitated with her hand on the door knob but then the whining sounded again. This time it was closer and there was definitely a note of pain in it. She couldn’t help seeing a puppy in her mind’s eye—a soft little bundle of fur maybe with cuts and bruises like Chewy had had or maybe even with a broken paw…people were so cruel to animals. He might have been thrown from a car or just left to die. She couldn’t ignore that kind of pain—she couldn’t.

  Pushing the other’s warning to the back of her mind, she opened the door just a crack and peered out into the dark, chilly night.

  “Here, boy,” she called softly, shivering as a gust of cold air whirled around her bare ankles. Wrapping her robe more closely around her, she stared hard into the shadows that filled her back yard, looking for where the sound was coming from.

  Under the robe she had on a short, silky nighty that was pale blue with a lace hem. Also, another gust of cold air reminded her she was barefoot. She wished she would have taken the time to put on her fuzzy slippers and was just about to go get them but just then the whining sounded again, this time from her right. Well, it was too late now—she’d just have to get cold feet.

  “Here, boy. Come here, it’s all right now—it’s all right…” Emily risked stepping outside her door. The whining stopped for a moment and then intensified. Once again she thought she saw the gleam of eyes in the darkness. She had the definite feeling that the puppy wanted to come to her but it was afraid.

  “It’s okay, little guy,” she whispered soothingly walking out into the dark yard. The grass was damp and cold under her feet and a chilly breeze was sliding through the leaves, making an eerie whispering sound. Emily barely heard it. She was completely focused on finding the puppy now—not thinking at all of any kind of danger that might be waiting.

  In her mind’s eye she could see it—a fuzzy, matted little bundle of fur with big brown eyes and a long, taffy-pink tongue. She still had a can of Chewy’s favorite soft food in the cupboard. She would coax the puppy inside and warm the little guy up and feed him. She might have to try and give him a bath if he was really dirty or hurt but—

  She stopped—her thoughts going blank. Her half frozen toes had brushed against something slippery and warm.

  What in the world…?

  Emily looked down and the moon, which had been hiding behind a cloud, chose that moment to appear. A scream rose in her throat as she saw what she’d stepped on. Or maybe stepped in would be a better way to describe it, whispered a hysterical little voice in her head.

  Lying on the ground, face up and half hidden in the too-long grass she should have had cut ages ago, was Officer Lawry. It was his eyes Emily had seen glinting in the darkness—they were wide open and staring sightlessly into the night sky. And it was his blood she’d stepped in. Looking more closely, she saw in horror that there was a huge, jagged wound in his throat—a gaping hole where his windpipe should have been. Someone or something had ripped his throat out and Emily had just stepped in what remained of it.

  The scream that was building in her throat suddenly burst out, shrill and breathless and not nearly as loud as she’d thought it would be. At the same time the whining sounded again but this time it was different. It started out in a high, pitiful tone and then slid down into a much lower, more ominous register. Soon it had become a growl.

  Danger—I told you—danger! The other was suddenly back.

  Yeah, right. Not that you’re being very helpful, just saying “I told you so” Emily thought at it wildly. Thanks a lot! Why don’t you just—

  Her thoughts were cut off abruptly by what she saw.

  Out of the shadows of the tropical plants surrounding her yard stepped a beast.

  Emily didn’t need the other to tell her she was in trouble. She wanted to run but she felt frozen to the spot.

  Still growling, the thing came towards her. It was clearly an animal but like none she had ever seen before. It had silver skin for one thing and glowing red eyes which were completely focused on her. She would have thought it was some kind of robot but it moved so smoothly, so naturally…it seemed hard to believe anything mechanical could move like that.

  It most reminded her of a Doberman Pincer but it was huge—Emily had never seen anything like it. There was a dark stain on its silver muzzle that let her know what had happened to poor Officer Lawry.

  “Please,” she whispered, trying to back away slowly. “Please, just stay back, sta
y away…”

  For a moment she thought she saw its eyes grow even brighter—a deep, ominous crimson that illuminated its bloody muzzle and snarling, silver teeth. Then it crouched and sprang, leaping at her with deadly intent.

  Emily gasped and tried to scramble backwards but there was no way she was going to make it—the huge silver beast was unnaturally fast. It was going to kill her—going to rip out her throat just as it had done to Officer Lawry. It—

  There was a sudden, deafening blast of noise beside her and the silver beast was knocked off course. It jerked to the side with a startled whine and collapsed on the grass in a twisted heap beside the body of the fallen policeman.

  Emily gave a squeak of surprise and stared uncomprehending at the crumpled beast at her feet. It was as though a huge fist had simply punched it out of the air. Even as she watched the red light behind its eyes was dying. It gave a soft, final whimper—the puppy sound it had used to lure her out into the yard—and then stopped moving.

  “Oh my God,” Emily whispered. All the strength seemed to have run out of her legs and she felt like she was going to fall. She started to sag to the cold grass but suddenly a large, warm hand gripped her arm, pulling her upright.

  “I told you it wasn’t safe here,” a deep, rumbling voice said in her ear.

  Emily turned her head and saw the huge Kindred warrior standing there. What had he said he name was? Telgar? Tragar? He had one hand wrapped around her arm and the other held a handgun type weapon with a muzzle as wide as a shotgun.

  “I…you…” She didn’t know what to say—both her tongue and her brain felt numb. “What…what was that?” she finally managed, nodding at the twisted silver heap.

  “Sniffer. Used by the Dark Kindred to sniff out emotions only in this case, it was tuned exclusively to you.” He frowned. “Not surprising since the male who put the contract on you was Dark Kindred. He must have decided I was taking too long to do the job.”

  “Oh my God,” Emily whispered faintly. “You mean…there really is someone trying to kill me?”

  “Didn’t I tell you so earlier?” He frowned at her.

  “Yes but…” Emily shook her head. “But I didn’t know what to believe—it didn’t seem real.”

  “The threat is real, all right.” He sounded grim. “And where there’s one sniffer, there are usually more. Maybe even a pack of them. Come on—we have to get away.”

  “Get away?” He was already dragging her across the dark lawn but Emily dug in her heels, trying unsuccessfully to put on the brakes. “Wait a minute, what do you mean? Where are you taking me?”

  “With me. To my ship.”

  “What? No!” She tried to break free of his grip but it was like trying to break out of handcuffs—there was no way. “Stop!” she exclaimed. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

  The big Kindred paused his relentless forward motion for a moment and looked at her.

  “Khalla,” he began.

  “That’s not my name!”

  “Emily, then. I am aware that this is a distressing situation for you but it’s also very dangerous. We need to go before more sniffers show up to finish the job.”

  Me—I’m the job! Emily thought and shivered.

  “But why can’t we just go inside my house and lock the doors? We can call the police—tell them what happened.”

  He gave her an incredulous look.

  “Why? So more of them can be killed? I may be an assassin but I do not condone unnecessary death. Besides, as I pointed out earlier, the defenses of your domicile are extremely flimsy. We would simply be backing ourselves into a corner, waiting to be attacked.”

  “But—”

  Her words were cut off by a long, liquid howl. It was far in the distance but it sounded like it was getting closer.

  “Come on!” The big Kindred tugged on her arm but the bone chilling sound had frozen Emily to the spot. She literally couldn’t move.

  “I…I can’t,” she whispered. “Please…I just can’t.”

  To her surprise, the Kindred crouched down so that he could get eye to eye with her and looked into her face. His voice, when he spoke, was surprisingly gentle.

  “Emily,” he murmured. “I am sorry that the idea of leaving with me distresses you. However, it is better for you to be distressed than for you to be dead. And since I am sworn to protect you, I have to act in your best interests, even if you dislike it.”

  “But I—oh!” Her words ended in a gasp because he had reached down and scooped her up, wrapping her in his massive arms as though she weighed no more than a kitten.

  “Hey, let me down—let me go!” Emily beat against his broad chest but it did exactly as much good as if she’d been beating against a brick wall. The Kindred jogged quickly around the side of the house and out into the street, ignoring her completely.

  “Forgive me, Khalla,” he said formally, opening the door of a plain black car and shoving her inside. “For your own safety, I need to take you with me.”

  * * * * *

  Somewhere in the darkness of a ruined laboratory on the home world of the Dark Kindred, something stirred to life. A tube filled with nutrient bath stood in the shadows and its single occupant was waking.

  Black eyes with reddish glints opened as the dense, nutrient-rich liquid began to drain. Hair the same, strange color hung around a strong, cruelly handsome face.

  “Wake,” hissed a voice in the creature’s ear. Or was it in his head? “It is time to wake—the sniffers have failed. The girl yet lives. Steps must be taken and you, my scion, are the one to take them.”

  The creature opened his mouth for the first time and spoke his first words.

  “Yes, Master. As you say.”

  “Good.” The voice in his head sounded pleased. “I am glad I thought to implant a personality chip of myself in your head before I allowed X to kill my mortal shell. It’s so much better than simply being dead. I live on in you, my scion, and you will do exactly as I say.”

  “Yes, Master,” murmured the creature again. The last of the nutrient bath had drained away now and he stood, nude and hugely muscular in the empty tube, awaiting orders. “What must I do?” he asked.

  “Well, step out of the tube and dry off to start with. We have much to do, my scion.”

  “You are the Master,” the creature murmured in a low, rough voice. He stepped from the tube into the coldness of the ruined laboratory. “But…who am I?” he asked.

  There was a pause and then a snigger of unpleasant laughter in his brain.

  “I think I’ll call you Y,” said the Master. “Now get moving—as I said, we have much to do. The girl must die.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Meet Rone and Kate Y’ven. They’re professional trackers.” Sylvan nodded at the two people standing beside him in the Kindred Council chamber. “Or rather Rone is—he’s a Wulven Kindred.”

  “A what?” Thrace frowned at the two who were obviously a couple standing before the large semicircular table. He still didn’t know why he personally had been invited to a Kindred Council meeting. After all—he was Havoc, not Kindred. But Commander Sylvan had been very insistent that he come. So here he was, sitting at the very end of the table and waiting to see what was going on.

  “A Wulven Kindred—there aren’t many of us,” the male said, stepping forward. He had bright blue eyes which seemed to glow when he turned his head. His thick, dark hair was cut short to show slightly pointed ears. But the ears and eyes weren’t the only thing about him that struck Thrace as strange. The big male was somehow animalistic in the way he moved and spoke. It was almost as though there was a beast lurking just below that glowing blue gaze. Yet his female didn’t seem frightened. Though she was so petite she appeared absolutely tiny next to him, she looked up at her male with love and adoration.

  Just the way Trin looks at me, Thrace thought and had a slight twinge of guilt. He loved Trin with all his heart and was very happily bonded to her but there was something that ha
d been bothering him lately—something in the back of his brain that wouldn’t let him rest when he thought of his beloved.

  “There weren’t enough of the Wulven people to make a full trade,” Commander Sylvan said, pulling Thrace out of his contemplation.

  “Ha!” The big Wulven gave a barking laugh. “Don’t pretend that’s the only reason many of the Kindred didn’t want to bond with us, Commander.”

  “Regardless,” Commander Sylvan said. “For whatever reason, there are very few Wulven Kindred. However, their tracking skills are unparalleled.” He nodded at Rone. “Which is why I asked you here in the first place.”

  “So he’s going to try to track the Earth girl? The one targeted for assassination by the Verrak?” another Council member asked. “I thought we had yet to locate her.”

  “That’s where Kate comes in,” the Wulven Kindred said, nodding at the slim female beside him.

  “I brought Rone in to track the Earth girl we’re looking for,” Commander Sylvan said. “But he asked that we allow his mate, Kate to help.”

  “Forgive me but if you’re the tracker, how can your mate help?” Thrace asked, frowning.

  “Kate has a gift. She knows things about people sometimes,” Rone said.

  He drew his mate forward and her long, curly hair glinted under the overhead glows. It was an unusual color, Thrace thought, even for an Earth girl. Not really red but not really blonde either—it was as though someone had mixed strands of both in her hair with the result being a fiery mass of coppery ringlets that surrounded her elfin face. Her eyes were extraordinary too— clear green with gold flecks.

  “The Knowing…that’s what my Mama always called it. It’s a family thing.” Kate was blushing but she held her head high. “It doesn’t always work but I’ve been able to help Rone in the past—especially in cases like this where you don’t even know where to begin.”