Falling for Kindred Claus: A Kindred Tales Novel (Brides of the Kindred) Read online

  He tried to toss it between the columns but the disruptor was stronger than he had imagined. It blew in deadly silence, emitting an almost invisible wave of disruption which enveloped the columns on either side, gobbling them up as though a giant, invisible hand had suddenly decided to erase them.

  There was a moment of perfect silence in which Ba’deal could be heard screaming that he would kill them, would kill them all, that the line of Potentates would end now and never be reborn.

  And then the roof began to cave in.

  * * * * *

  To Lisa, it was all a blur. She saw Asher reach out and grab Ambassador Ba’deal, heard the other man shout, and then watched with horror as Asher actually cut off his hand. This he lobbed to the other side of the cavernous dining hall and suddenly there was a roar and rubble started crashing down around them.

  The odd thing was, she wasn’t afraid—not at first. She was seeing everything through pink-colored lenses—the haze of the love drink which still surrounded her. So she found she could be amazed and horrified by the big Kindred’s actions and yet love him so completely she knew nothing he could do would end that love.

  It was, she thought, the same kind of unconditional love a mother feels for her child but not quite because her feelings for Asher were also mixed with passion and need. She wanted to take him away somewhere, strip both of them naked, entwine their bodies, stare into each others’ eyes and just be together.

  Which made no sense considering the chaos that was ensuing around them. Chaos she seemed helpless to react to, since she was still incapacitated by the drink.

  Everyone else at the table was too—everyone but Asher who hadn’t drunk his. He grabbed Lisa bodily and threw her across his shoulder before charging to the head of the table and encircling both the Old and New Potentates with his free arm.

  “Your Majesties,” Lisa heard him say, his voice calm despite the roar of falling masonry around them. “This way—we must get out of the banquet hall.”

  Somehow in the blur that followed, he got Lisa and both the Potentates away from the collapsing ceiling and out into the hallway which was filled with guards rushing back and forth and people screaming while their chewchies danced madly and chattered in terror on their heads.

  “Your Majesties, this is a bad area to be in,” Asher said, his voice still low and masterful. “Tell me—is there a secure place we can go where you know you will be safe?”

  The Old Potentate nodded.

  “The Room of Shields,” she murmured. “This way.”

  Still shielding the royal women with his body and right arm and holding Lisa over his shoulder with his left, Asher shepherded them in the way the older Chorkay woman had pointed. Around a corner they went and down a long golden hallway, then into a much smaller, hidden hallway which only opened when they came directly upon it.

  Finally, they came to a recessed door at the end of a narrow passage. The Old Potentate pressed her hand to the center of it and there was a clicking sound as it opened.

  “Wait—I’ll go first,” Asher told them. He put Lisa down and kissed her quickly on the forehead. “Stay with the Potentates,” he told her sternly. Then, weapon drawn, he stepped quickly inside and surveyed the room.

  Lisa shivered as she waited, watching while the Old and New Potentates clutched each other’s hands and their chewchies chattered nervously together. The love drink had finally worn off and what had happened was finally sinking in. All of them had just survived an assassination attempt—one which would surely have killed not just its intended targets, but the entire first half of the dining table as well if Asher hadn’t been so quick to act.

  I should be dead right now, she thought, feeling sick. If Asher hadn’t moved so quickly and decisively, she would have been, she realized.

  It was the first time she had seen him in action and it made her realize what a deadly agent he truly was. The coolly efficient male she saw at work now was nothing like the uncertain guy who had played Santa very badly for her the day before. He was completely different—totally in his element in this moment of deadly stress. It amazed her and frightened her a little bit and she kept remembering watching as he cut off Ba’deal’s hand…

  Guess he won’t be groping anyone else in the near future, whispered a little voice in her head. Asher took care of that problem for him. Talk about a me-too moment. Ha-ha, Lisa, very funny!

  “All right—it’s clear.” Asher’s deep voice broke into her semi-hysterical train of thought and she looked up to see him standing in the doorway, beckoning for all three of them to come into the room.

  “O-okay,” she tried to say but her lips didn’t seem to want to work. So she just followed the Potentates into the room and watched as Asher sealed it behind them.

  They were safe—but for how long?

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  The Room of Shields appeared to be the remains of an old armory. At any rate, there were still weapons displayed on the walls, as well as a number of brightly colored decorative shields, which may have given the room its name.

  Asher looked carefully but the door they had come in by appeared to be the only entrance or exit. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no way to lock or bar the door. He had to content himself with standing guard by it with a drawn blaster in one hand while the two Potentates and Lisa settled themselves shakily on a rich leather couch in the center of the rom.

  Lisa was as white as a sheet, he noted to himself and felt a stab of guilt. She was only here because he had brought her—because of him she had almost been killed.

  I’m no good for her, he thought grimly. This life I live is too dangerous—too hazardous for one as innocent as her.

  Lisa drew a shaky breath and looked up.

  “That was…was awful,” she whispered at last, shaking her head.

  “It was most dreadful,” the New Potentate agreed in a voice that trembled slightly.

  But the Old Potentate seemed much more sanguine about the situation.

  “It was merely an assassination attempt,” she said, patting the New Potentate’s hand. “I am afraid you will have to get used to them, my dear.”

  “But Grandmama, how can I possibly?” the New Potentate protested. “We both nearly died just now!” Her chewchie hopped down from her head to her lap and began screeching in agitation. “Where were our personal guards in all that chaos?” she demanded furiously. “Why was it left to a stranger and an off-worlder to protect us?”

  The Old Potentate’s wrinkled face was grim.

  “It may be that the Royal Guard has been compromised,” she said, frowning. “In which case, my dear, you must start from scratch. My advice to you is to choose a loyal man from among the ranks and raise him up—make him love you and he will protect you with his life. Just as this fine warrior here, protected his own lady love,” she added, nodding to Asher and Lisa, who was staring at her wide-eyed.

  “Your Grandmother is correct, your Majesty, if I may interject,” Asher said quietly. “Loyalty and love go hand in hand in the heart of a true warrior. Find one you can trust and make him the new Captain of your personal guard. In the meantime, I will stay and ensure your safety until you feel certain you are secure.”

  “That is most kind of you, young man,” the Old Potentate said gravely. “You’re one of the Kindred, are you not?”

  Asher nodded. “I am, your Majesty.”

  “As I thought,” she murmured and looked at her granddaughter. “The Kindred are a race of males who venerate females and serve a female Goddess. They are to be trusted in all things, which is one reason I allowed one to be invited to your Coronation.”

  “Which will have to be postponed now,” the New Potentate said with a sigh. “For we cannot be sure of the high priest either and who else is to perform it?”

  “I shall,” the Old Potentate said firmly. “In times of duress, we have no need of priests for the will of Thufar is always with us. Also,” she added, “I do not believe the high priest was in o