Brides of the Kindred Volume One Read online

  “Where the purple mists never recede,” Nadiah whispered. She put a hand to her head and her eyelids fluttered. “Oh, Lauren, I felt such fear for you!”

  Beside her, Detective Rast shifted again and cleared his throat. He looked like he wanted to say something but in the end he kept silent.

  “Thank you,” Lauren said to Nadiah. “It was pretty awful but I’m okay, thanks to Xairn.”

  “Sounds like you owe him a lot,” Olivia murmured.

  “I owe him my life,” Lauren said seriously. “Several times over.”

  “You may still be in danger,” Nadiah’s big blue eyes widened dramatically. “I’ve had another dream about you. At least, I think it was you.” She frowned. “Um, Lauren, do you have any giants in the town you live in? People of really large stature maybe around, um…I’m trying to work it out in your system of measurement…around twenty feet tall?”

  “Twenty foot tall giants? In Sarasota?” Lauren shook her head. “Uh, no, sorry but we don’t. Was that part of the dream?”

  “It was.” Nadiah looked frustrated. “You or someone who looked a lot like you was standing beside two giants who were kissing. The male had the female bent over his arm and they were frozen there, not moving. I saw you standing beside them and then suddenly you disappeared. And somehow…somehow I knew you had been taken someplace terrible.” Her voice dropped. “Someplace you might never return from.”

  “Do we really have to listen to this?” For some reason Detective Rast was glaring at Nadiah’s image on the viewscreen. “I mean, you had me going for a minute with the whole purple shadows and the blue and red clothes but giants kissing? Come on.”

  Nadiah stiffened. “Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.”

  “I don’t have to understand something to know it sounds crazy,” he shot back.

  “No, wait a minute.” Olivia held up a hand. “You said the girl in your dream just disappeared? Like she’d been taken somewhere? Maybe transported by the molecular transfer beam the Scourge have?”

  “Oh no.” Lauren felt suddenly sick. “But that’s not possible! Xairn took me to O’ah to have my DNA altered specifically so the AllFather couldn’t kidnap me that way again.” She shivered and her mom wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. “Please tell me it can’t happen again.”

  “I know how you feel,” Sophia said sympathetically. “It happened to me too. It’s awful—like somebody put your entire body through a cheese grater.”

  “That’s exactly how it is.” Lauren shivered again and pressed her face to her mom’s shoulder. “Ugh, I really don’t want to think about it.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nadiah looked regretful. “But I thought I should warn you. Just in case.”

  “It sounds like Lauren will be just fine as long as she stays away from kissing giants,” Detective Rast said dryly. “Somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

  “Very funny.” Kat’s blue eyes flashed. “Did you ever think that since it’s a dream the giants Nadiah saw might stand for something else? Maybe they’re some kind of symbolism.”

  “The symbol of a fraud, maybe,” he growled.

  Olivia put a hand on her hip. “Seriously, Detective Rast, does it say ‘professional jerk’ on your business cards or what?”

  “No, it says that I find missing persons,” he snapped. “And I don’t need a bunch of psychic mumbo-jumbo to help me do it.”

  “I never offered you my help.” Nadiah gave him a look that could freeze a laser beam. “And don’t worry, Detective, I never will.”

  His striking green eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t take it if you begged me.”

  Nadiah put her hands on her hips. “Begged you? Are you out of your tiny human mind?” She sniffed and her eyes flickered down to his crotch. “Though I’m sure that’s not the only thing that’s tiny about you.”

  Detective Rast, who was as big as Xairn or any of the Kindred warriors Lauren had seen, raised an eyebrow at Nadiah. “Are you saying you want to come down and check out my equipment? Because that’s certainly what it sounds like.”

  Nadiah’s cheeks went bright red. “Of course not. I have no interest in your…your…in that!”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “They why were you looking south of my belt?”

  “I…I was looking at your weapon,” Nadiah protested. “I have no interest in anything else.”

  “My weapon, huh?” He smirked. “Well I think I can promise you it’s a larger caliber than you could handle.”

  Nadiah looked furious. “Why, you—!”

  “Okay now,” Lauren’s mom said, putting out a hand. “Maybe we should all say goodbye. It’s awfully late and I know Lauren is exhausted.”

  Lauren, who had been fascinated in the exchange between the detective and Sophie’s cousin-in-law, quickly manufactured a yawn. “Uh, yeah. I really am.”

  “We’re sorry for keeping you,” Kat said, smiling warmly.

  “And I apologize for disturbing your reunion with your kin,” Nadiah said formally. “Truly, it wasn’t my intent. I simply wanted to warn you to be on your guard.”

  “I will be.” Lauren smiled at her. “I promise. But don’t worry—I have protection.”

  “We know you’re in good hands.” Kat smiled at her. “Say hi to Xairn for me.”

  “I will.” Lauren smiled. “I hope to see you all in person soon.”

  “And don’t forget you promised to come for my baby shower and bring cupcakes,” Olivia said quickly. “I think we’ll need at least three dozen.”

  “Yeah, but what are the rest of us going to eat, Liv?” Sophie grinned at her sister and gave her a nudge. “You know I’m kidding. Though I think you ought to ask Lauren if she does some of the weird flavor combinations you’ve been craving before you place your order.”

  “Somehow I doubt there are any ketchup/sauerkraut/chocolate cupcakes on her menu,” Kat said dryly.

  “I can accommodate almost any request,” Lauren said, smiling. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up with a new flavor I can use. I’ll call it ‘pregnancy cravings’ or ‘eating for two’ or something like that.”

  “I seriously doubt you’d want to sell some of the things Liv has been eating,” Sophie said, grinning. “But you never can tell.”

  “We’ll contact you again when we plan the shower,” Olivia promised. “But now I think we should probably go. All this talk about cupcakes has made me so hungry.”

  “Liv, you just ate a whole carton of Chunky Monkey!” Sophia protested.

  “Right.” Olivia grinned unrepentantly. “And now I want some real food. Who’s up for pizza?”

  “I’ve got the ingredients at my place,” Kat volunteered. “As long as you don’t want anything weird on it.”

  “Nothing too strange,” Olivia promised. “Just pepperoni and mushrooms. And…”

  “And what?” Sophia demanded.

  “Well…” Olivia bit her lip. “Does anybody have any black jellybeans? You know, the licorice ones?”

  “Black jelly bean and pepperoni pizza?” Kat rolled her eyes and looked at Lauren. “You see what we have to put up with over here?”

  Lauren couldn’t help laughing. “I think it’s hilarious. And listen, Olivia, I promise to make any kind of cupcakes you want. Even sardine and pickle or anything else you can come up with.”

  Olivia rubbed her stomach. “Mmm, pickles. Has anybody ever had a pickle pizza?”

  “Stop!” Sophia sounded horrified. “Please don’t give her any more ideas,” she begged Lauren.

  “Sorry!” Lauren laughed again, delightedly. She could already tell she was going to love her new cousins.

  Kat smiled. “I think we’d better go now, Lauren. Got to feed the pregnant lady before she gets mean.”

  “Bye.” Lauren gave them all a little wave. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “Please do,” Olivia said, suddenly serious. “Sophie and I are so glad you’re home.”