Healing the Broken: A Kindred Christmas Tale Read online

  It was her scent that he found especially distracting now. It seemed to grow stronger in the closed cabin—so strong, in fact, that his fangs were long and sharp and eager to bite. He kept remembering that one taste of her blood he’d had when he healed her small wound—how intoxicatingly sweet it had been…

  No, he told himself firmly. No, I won’t bite her—not yet. I need to get things ready for our trip before I indulge myself.

  Grimly, he ignored the Blood Hunger which had been tearing at him for days now, ever since the last few, bitter drops he’d taken from his former assistant before she had fainted and he had let her go. There would be time for feeding later—time to taste Sarah’s sweet, indescribably delicious blood again once all the preparations were in place.

  If he had been mated to her, he would have bitten Sarah at least once a day—sometimes more. But it was stipulated in her employment contract that he would bite her only once during each standard seven-day week. It would be better to have her blood to nourish him at the very beginning of their mission rather than a day before, when he didn’t really need it.

  But you do really need it, whispered the Blood Hunger. You’re half starved—hell, more than half. You haven’t had a true drink since Malinda died and that was a year and a half ago.

  Thoughts of his dead mate started a fierce ache inside him which he pushed ruthlessly away. It also made him think of his son, Tsandor. The constant care facility had informed him that the boy needed new clothing. Apparently he was growing tall for his age and had outgrown the last set Sazar had sent over.

  He felt a stab of guilt, as he always did when thinking of his son. He should go and visit at least, reassure the boy that he was not forgotten. But somehow he couldn’t face those eyes, so much like Malinda’s, or bear to answer questions about how she had died…

  “What happened to Mamam? Where is she? When is Mamam coming home?”

  The questions Tsandor had asked over and over when Malinda had first passed over to be with the Goddess were unanswerable, unendurable. He had been so young when it happened. He was still young, still vulnerable…

  I’ll send Sarah, Sazar thought, casting a glance at his new assistant. It can be her first assignment—to shop for new clothing for herself and the boy and to bring it to him at the constant care house.

  It seemed the perfect solution. The shelter director had said that Sarah was excellent with children, after all. Maybe Tsandor would like her and be comforted. Sazar hoped so—he had no comfort to give right now and he didn’t know when he ever would again. His heart was a stone since his mate had passed—he had no feeling left inside but the deep, bitter ache and he knew he never would again.

  Guilt slightly assuaged, he guided the shuttle towards the huge white bulk of the Mother Ship which was orbiting the Earth’s moon. Time to get ready for his diplomatic visit with the dignitaries on Alquon Ultrea. They could be valuable genetic trade partners and allies against the Hive—the insectile race which threatened Earth and the Kindred who protected it—if Sazar did his job correctly.

  Can’t allow myself to be bogged down in sentiment, he told himself sternly. I have a mission to complete and I must and will complete it for the good of my people.

  He would do his job, no matter how the Blood Hunger tore at him. After all, now that his love was dead, honor and duty were all that remained to him.

  * * * * *

  “Hey, doll—you look lost.”

  The voice belonged to a pretty auburn-haired girl who was as curvy as Sarah was herself, though the stranger was considerably taller.

  “I am lost,” Sarah confessed. She’d been standing in the main terminal aboard the Kindred Mother Ship for fifteen minutes, trying to decipher the map which would hopefully lead her to the clothing stores she was supposed to visit, but so far she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

  The Mother Ship was a huge place, compared to the Compound. Kindred warriors and human women rushed back and forth, getting on and off the trams which pulled soundlessly up to the platforms and rushed off again just as fast.

  It felt vast and impersonal and frightening after living much of her life in a controlled environment and Sarah was beginning to feel like an ant on a leaf, watching as the waters rose and swirled around her, just trying not to drown. This auburn-haired girl was the first person to stop and talk to her and she felt incredibly grateful for her kindness.

  “Well, tell me where you’re supposed to go and I’ll help you get there,” the girl said. “My name is Kat, by the way. I’m mated to Twin Kindred. How about you? What kind of Kindred did you get? Oh, and what’s your name?” She laughed. “Sorry, guess I should have asked that first.”

  “I’m Sarah Michaels.” Sarah held out a hand and the other girl shook it warmly with a smile. “But I’m not mated to any of the Kindred—I’m a personal assistant to one and I’m supposed to be doing some errands for him.” She shrugged helplessly. “Only I don’t know where I’m going. I just came up to the Mother Ship about an hour ago and I’m really lost.”

  “What? You mean he brought you up here and dumped you and just expects you to find your way around?” Kat sounded indignant. “What a jerk! What is he—a Dark Kindred? They don’t understand emotions so it sounds like something one of them might do.”

  “No, he’s a Blood Kindred,” Sarah explained. “And he didn’t just dump me—he actually gave me a way to call him if I get lost.” She rummaged in her battered brown leather handbag and brought out the thin silver circle Sazar had given her before pointing the way to the terminal and going the opposite direction himself. “He said to put this around my head like a crown and think to him if I needed help.”

  “Wow—he gave you a think-me?” Kat’s auburn brows rose in apparent surprise. “He must have known you a while to ask you to bespeak him. That’s a pretty intimate form of communication.”

  “No, actually—he just hired me today,” Sarah said. “Which is why I don’t want to use this, uh, think-me thing.” She lifted her chin. “I need to prove I’m a competent assistant and calling for help every five minutes doesn’t look very competent, does it?”

  “I guess not.” Kat smiled cheerfully. “Which is why it’s good for you that I’m nosey. I saw you standing here with that look on your face and just had to know what was going on with you.”

  “I’m glad you’re nosey.” Sarah smiled at her, feeling like she’d known the other woman all her life. “If you could just direct me to some clothing shops. I need to get some new clothes for myself and for a little boy around four and a half years old.”

  Kat’s eyes practically glowed with interest.

  “You’re in luck, doll—I just happen to be taking a little shopping day myself. And since you and I are both pleasingly plump, you can tag along. Come on.”

  She led Sarah to a platform and then onto a whisper-quiet tram with clear glass sides which allowed a view of the different areas of the Mother Ship as they rushed past.

  “Wow—it’s really fast,” Sarah remarked. “I have to stop looking—it’s making me dizzy.”

  “You’re lucky to ride it,” Kat informed her. “The Kindred only installed it recently, you know. When I first came aboard the Mother Ship, you could either go up and down in these fast, cramped little tubes or you had to ride this two-headed animal called a Take-me.” She made a face. “Believe me—neither option was any fun.” She leaned casually against a pole, her eyes sharp. “So tell me more about this boss of yours…”

  Kat was easy to talk to and by the time she’d led Sarah past the huge park-like common area and into the shopping district, Sarah felt like she’d known her forever. She was cautious about explaining her past—even though she was far past the reach of The Brotherhood, she still didn’t like speaking about them and her life in the Compound. But she didn’t mind telling Kat about her new employer and the mission she was going to accompany him on.

  “So your new boss is Commander Sazar—the Pitch-Blood Kindred diplomat?” K