Any Price Page 20
“The royal first daughter’s mate is the focus of all Keepers. The One directs collective energy,” Lore finished to be sure they understood.
Into the silence Lore opened the common communication channel, expanding it with the full strength of his abilities. They had known they had the power to connect around the globe, speaking with Thomas had proved that. Feeling Keepers from almost every corner of the Earth was still surprising. It was not a huge number outside this country, yet it was enough to feel spread thin.
The ensuing chaos was quickly quieted as Kenna joined Lore. The two of them revealed themselves before the global community as what they were, the One and the first daughter of the gods. The truth of who they were flowed across the connection.
Though the entire history could not be condensed, it wasn’t needed. If a person could hear them, there was within that person recognition that could not be denied. Opening a mass communication channel powered by Lore’s control of energy ignited an explosion of knowledge that each individual had felt infiltrating into their reality in the last few days. Many had thought they were losing their minds. It was immediately apparent that this acknowledgement was necessary, and perhaps late.
Lore greeted them. “Brothers and sisters, I wish I could offer you a choice to join us or not but the universe is not a democracy. Survival of the strongest is the only constant we can count on. Kenna and I can no more reject who we are than you can choose not to be born into this community.” Lore paused as he gathered his thoughts and allowed others to calm their stunned reactions.
“We have no alternative except to be what we are. It’s the same lack of choice we had in what color our hair was at birth. Genetics made us. In light of that fact, I propose we join together to face the dangers before us.
“We are different. Some will call it gifted while others will have less charitable names for us. Mainly we will be feared. Each of you has felt a difference occurring within yourself. Something you’d always had a slight connection with but no control over. Suddenly you have abilities that far exceed the norms for humans. If the rest of the world population learns of our differences, we will be hunted.
“I want each of you to understand, you are in danger. If what we are becomes known, almost every power on Earth will seek to capture us in the name of science. They will call it a need to study you. I promise you, the study will involve an autopsy. Obviously you will not survive. I cannot impress on you enough how certain this outcome is if you are discovered. Your life and, more importantly, your children’s lives depend on concealing our community.
“Acknowledging us all in this way, I give you the one choice left us, the choice to unite. Those of you who did not know of your heritage would be easy targets were you left unaware and our existence become common knowledge in certain circles. I refer to governments and organizations that will see our differences as assets to be exploited.
“The bad news is there is at least one powerful organization that is aware of us. We don’t know the extent of their knowledge. The possibility exists that you are already targets. I urge you to hide your enhanced abilities.
“As a group, we can survive. We can assist each other in ways the rest of the world will wish they could possess. That is our greatest strength and our most deadly weakness. It will make us and mark us, but it is also our only hope for freedom. Again I say, we are what we are, that choice is not given to us. What we do with it is.
“I ask you as the One, choose to stand together. Together is our only opportunity to determine our destiny instead of letting others force one upon us. Making the choice to unite means we extend ourselves for the greater good. Once again, this is not a democracy, your leaders cannot be exchanged and neither can your heritage.”
Lore looked into Kenna’s eyes and asked her privately to disconnect from him. He intended to open his mind to the collective in the one gift he could give them. It was the only proof he had to offer of his intention to serve them. He was the focus of their energy, the seat of power, and he wanted their confidence. Lore had no idea if it would be painful, it certainly would be an invasion of personal space and he intended to endure it.
What he couldn’t handle was sharing her. Taking up the crown had not been a lightly thought-through choice. This leadership position did not offer him the luxury of a choice, that didn’t change his convictions on where his responsibilities lay. It was to the people. She was the only thing he could not share in any way.
Her deep desire to stand beside him through this was brave and exactly what he expected of her, but was the one thing he could not bear. His need to protect her was too strong and it was bound up in their intimate relationship. She was his only possession. He implored her to give him that. Even though she was the conduit of each soul represented, they had no power to see her as he intended to let them see him. She was the only thing he’d hold back from them.
Still sitting on the sofa, Kenna shifted her body to sit across his lap, wrapping her arms around him and her whole self across him as he held her to his chest. Her mouth came to rest on his neck and her lips parted to allow blunt little teeth to gently close over a portion of his skin so she was holding him in every possible way. Then she pulled out of him mentally. His arms tightened fiercely and he continued.
“This is your One, the hand of your power. Know me as I am and know my duty is to you. The first daughter who unites us is my first responsibility and our greatest treasure. Beyond that, I am yours,” Lore finished.
* * * * *
Simon Dahshur stiffened as he felt the distinctly male power snaking through the atmosphere. The power signature was Keeper but a male voice wielded it. And it was not the wispy shreds he was used to picking up. This voice thundered with strength. He could not distinguish the words but he felt the movement of many joining the male.
At thirty thousand feet on his way to Covia in the Dahshur corporate jet, he already knew what the displaced advisor wanted. He’d known it during their phone conversation. The fool was handing over the only known daughter of the gods since the other bitch disappeared seven hundred years ago. Simon’s plan was simple. Take her and get what he needed from her. He was outstanding at extracting what he needed, especially from females.
She would be something of a treat even though he liked them bigger and stronger. Much more entertaining to break the strong ones, but now there was this male. Could it be the king she slept with? Had they found a way for the power to be wielded by her bedmate? Oh, that could be exceedingly interesting.
He’d known she held the key to power. He hadn’t known she could bestow it on another. This just got better and better.
The power emanating from Covia was a compelling perfume. The feel of it made him hard. He savored the sexual rush, allowing it to burn over him at the thought of possessing her in every way. He had no doubt he’d obtain everything she was, but he needed to remind himself of the first goal. Taking this from her would be gratifying, but obtaining the secrets of the gods must be accomplished.
Consciously relaxing his body, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The heady mix of being so close to his goal and the power he felt the little fool gathering, coupled with the knowledge that it would all be his, made his body hum with anticipation. This was foreplay at its best.
They didn’t know what or who they were dealing with, but that didn’t matter. This was a response to the move he’d made in searching her possessions. He knew he’d failed to obtain whatever it was she’d sent the lapdog to New York for. That game wasn’t done yet. He was confident he’d secure the item she had sent for.
The richness of entering battle was a high he’d not felt so keenly previously. Its sexual force had been vaguely enjoyed before, but this was a consuming pleasure. Simon smiled and opened his eyes. I’m coming, my sweet witch. Coming for you.
* * * * *
Lore closed the common path but the expanded flow of energy hummed with a pulse that each of them felt. His natural instincts as a leader had
led him to this action. Its unleashing of power had been an unexpected side effect.
Kenna’s mouth released him as she sat back and looked into his face. He was magnificent, fierce and strangely calm. She saw a revitalized face whose subtle signs of age were refining in a way that added authority to an already striking visage. Her soul felt his energy as she slipped back into the place in his mind that was hers.
“Time to take you home, baby,” he stated calmly.
“What?” Yuri questioned sharply.
Lore glanced at him. “To the home of her ancestors, Kersonov. We are not in the right place. We can feel it. There are secrets here but no answers. We need to go where the answers were born. The place they began, her ancestral home.”
Chapter Eleven
New York City
Thomas walked out of the Chinese Consulate and glanced down the brightly lit street. He could feel his watcher as he hailed a cab.
Remaining stationary would accomplish nothing. The need for information was paramount, not just for his lady liege but for the community at large. The king’s actions had highlighted what a huge responsibility rested on a very small group’s shoulders. Previously the small military contingent had been guardians of a remote European kingdom that no one really wanted. Now they were protectors of a people who possessed treasures every other power would seek to attain.
At this moment it was a secret war and they all hoped it remained so, but it was still war. Even if he had only a few hours left, he was in a unique position to gather information that could prove invaluable.
Being a martyr wasn’t his aim. Thomas intended to live. More than that, he intended to exact a high cost for his soul if he had no other choice. The opposing force was about to learn none of them would go down easy.
Heading to the Waldorf, Thomas savored appearing the prey in this game. He was very much a wolf in sheep’s clothing. By leaving the consulate he’d indicated ignorance of the extent of the threat. He was reasonably sure those following him would assume his knowledge of them was limited. It was, but he intended to change that.
The Waldorf had a lobby dress code and he’d barely get in wearing the dress shirt, tie and dress slacks. Scruffy spy-boy would not. Thomas assumed they’d scramble and find another entrance but still, they had to change clothes.
Thomas checked in and rented a safe deposit box just to worry them. The Waldorf’s plush surroundings were designed to be soothing, but he wasn’t ready to be soothed. A stroll through the hotel boutique supplied him a change of clothes. A black silk shirt would disappear in the shadows just as well as a standard turtleneck, but he’d look more like a lurking gigolo.
Changing in the shop, he was sure no one watched from the lobby yet. Swiftly making his way out the employee exit, it was easy to find his quarry parked on a side street. They were in a different car and should have blended in. The only reason he easily picked out the correct vehicle was his newly enhanced senses. Tension radiating from their car drew his eye.
As Thomas watched the two men sitting in the nondescript sedan, another man strolled up and slid into the backseat. The three appeared relaxed but the spike of tension told a different story to extended senses. Abruptly one of the men in front turned to face the back. The man in the back slumped over as the car sedately joined traffic.
There were three bodies in that car but only two souls remained. The murder had been casually accomplished in public. It told Thomas more about the adversary than his own capture would have.
With this group the price of failure was death. They displayed the fanatical thinking of a religious sect, not a military unit. Giving up on their target too quickly and wasting an asset for a minor failure was all about someone’s impatience. It was a personal response that no professional would ever make. Now he suspected they were headed to the one place they knew they could pick him up again. He had to return to the plane.
Thomas contacted Yuri with the new information. The enemy was wildly unpredictable. A religious sect could not be counted on to do the logical thing. Not even the thing that was best for their cause. This type of opponent was made up of martyrs, which meant every person involved actually wanted to die in battle.
Martyrs made stupid soldiers, but their inability to retreat gave them a certain advantage. They had no moral code, no decision-making process. They did as instructed and could not be moved from that goal. There were few opponents more difficult than this type of mindless force.
* * * * *
Covia
Limos glided out of the city. Early morning sun glinted off tinted windows as they disappeared, heading north. The story left behind was they were going for a short day trip to a hunting lodge just north of the city. Since the king still needed to be in contact, his senior secretary accompanied them along with the second chef to take care of the noon meal.
Lore and Kenna were alone in the back of the second limo. He’d made sure of it as the required players entered the vehicles. Sometimes it was good to be king, Lore mused with a smile when Kenna glanced around at the arrangements.
“What do you think we’re looking for?” Kenna wanted to know as they exited the capital.
Lore depressed the button, raising the privacy glass between them and the three men seated in front. “We’ll find what we are meant to find. It’s of no interest to me at the moment,” he stated calmly. Turning, he lifted Kenna, holding her above his lap a second. “Open the legs,” he ordered to have her straddle him.
“What are you doing?” Kenna settled on his lap in the gently rocking car.
“I’m doing it right,” Lore stated as he bent to nuzzle her breasts. His hands were busy behind her, unhooking her bra. Quickly he reached into the sleeveless summer blouse and pulled the straps down her arms, extracting the bra expertly.
“You’re quite good at that,” Kenna observed as his mouth moved across her breast bone. His heated breath through thin cotton was an exquisite sensation as he ignored its obstruction.
“Mmm.” He pulled the blouse out of her peasant skirt. Large hands moved over her slowly, drawing out each touch as enhanced nerves trembled. Slowly the cotton was drawn up, his fingers gliding over her rib cage. Her hands gripped his forearms for balance as he shoved the material to her neck and lifted his head to survey what he’d uncovered.
Kenna took a deep breath as he looked at her. Their connection told her his emotions were churning as he drank in the sight of her breasts. Possession and passion swirled through him, tenderness and desperation a close second.
“Why the desperation?” she asked as she caressed his tense face.
His big hands moved up and down her back as if he could not get enough of her skin in them. “You know I’ve changed,” he stated as his head tipped back to the leather seat so he could look her in the eye. “As have you, but my changes are different. I’ve become stronger and you remain the fragile woman I met. Your changes empower me and the Keeper society, but you stay vulnerable. I can feel what you feel, my little witch. The forces moving toward us, both of them, are aimed directly at you.
“How am I supposed to handle that?” he asked softly. “This desperate need to protect is swiftly becoming rage at whatever they are.” His hands glided up and down her sides, grazing the swell of her breasts as he tried to explain.
“Baby, I wasn’t lonely. There was no empty hunger in my life. Then there you were and everything I thought was true became false. I need you, Kenna. I hunger for you. There is no collection of things, no title, no birthright I wouldn’t give up. I will die before giving up you.”
They were both silent as the deep truth of his sentiment filtered through her. Kenna framed his face and she smiled a little sadly. “Your death would dictate mine. We are not separate, apparently death is our ultimate embrace,” she reminded him. “Try to control the beast with that, will you?” Her gentle teasing was all surface. The forces entwining them created in her the same needs though the face of them was different.
“Even
though you can see the beast in me, don’t fear it. You never need to fear it. After this morning, I’m not sure I can prove that but I’m giving it a shot.” He smiled at her.
Kenna shifted, pressing her damp mound against the hard evidence of his desire beneath his pants. The skirt was full and allowed her to easily stretch open over his lap. She wasn’t wearing panties because he’d asked her not to back when they were dressing.
His look had been intense when he glanced at her stepping into pretty panties, and he’d said softly, “You know I’ll have to rip those off. Why don’t you make it easy on us both and leave them?” He’d been referring to the fact that their sexual needs were becoming more frequent and intense.
Now his face turned serious. “Honey, I don’t know why you’re in physical pain when it’s been too long. I hate that you face the risks and consequences. Neither of us had a choice in becoming what we are, but damn it, you keep getting pain.” Lore searched to find the words to convey his rejection of this arrangement.
“What it does is create an unholy drive to protect and defend. We, as a people, have been given the gift of valuing our women above all else. But you, our dearest treasure are the weakest of all. It’s not right. The other women are strengthening, physically. You and I both feel it, but not you. Why not you? Why would one who matters most be the most vulnerable? You share the increased abilities and yet your body does not have the tools to handle them. For you, need becomes pain when it should be pleasure.”
“I know,” Kenna agreed, her fingers covering his lips to hush him. “It makes me very dependent. That could be the reason. Who knows?” She smiled at him as her fingers drifted down to work the buttons of his shirt. “Keeps a person from becoming full of themselves. Perhaps that’s what it is, a natural balance.
“On the other hand, consider the payoff for me, all of us women. We get our men’s full attention. I mean, who wouldn’t want you doing this?” she asked as his hands glided around to cup her breasts, his thumbs slowly sliding over pert nipples in gentle, maddening caresses. “I’m in your mind. I know your thoughts. You don’t look at other women, ever. You do in the sense that you feel this insane need to protect all of us, but I know your desires, where they are centered. It’s intoxicating to be the center of your world and know it.” Kenna moaned as his touch intensified.