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  They rose higher and higher and Lauren watched in the viewscreen as the dark, polluted planet receded into the distance. When it was no larger than a dirty tennis ball hanging in space, Xairn held the ship still for a moment and sat in silence, staring at it.

  Though his face was impassive, Lauren thought she understood what he must be feeling. Reaching out, she rested her hand lightly on his knee. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “It must be hard—saying goodbye to your home planet.”

  “That place was never my home.” Xairn’s voice was cold but when he looked at her his eyes were burning. “I have no home. No people. No father. I have nothing.”

  “That’s all right.” She tried to smile. “You can come home with me—if you want.”

  “Eventually.” His voice was remote. “But I’m afraid it will be some time before you see Earth again.”

  “What do you mean?” She tried to keep the fear out of her voice but he was acting so strangely it scared her. “Why—?”

  “You will understand in time.” He looked down at her hand, still resting on his knee. “I thought I asked you before not to touch me.”

  “I’m sorry.” Lauren removed her hand hastily. “I just thought…I wanted to comfort you.”

  “I need no comfort. And I do not want your hands on me. It isn’t safe.”

  “Isn’t safe? What do you mean?”

  He turned his head to look at her and she thought again that his eyes looked like they were on fire. The savage look on his face was like nothing she had ever seen before. There was nothing but hunger in his gaze. No compassion, no pity…just the naked desire to devour. “Please, Xairn,” she said, her voice trembling. “Please, you’re scaring me.”

  He took a deep breath and the fire in his eyes died down a little. Some of the tension eased from his broad shoulders and the hunger left his face. “Forgive me, Lauren.” He shook his head. “But I wish very much that you were not with me right now. It would have been better if you had gone with the Kindred and their female. Better and far safer.”

  “I’m safe with you.” Lauren touched his arm for emphasis and then remembered he didn’t want her to and drew back. “It’s all right,” she said, holding his eyes with hers. “Everything is going to be all right because I trust you. And I know you’ll keep your promise to see me safely home.”

  “I did promise that, didn’t I?” Xairn pressed a hand to his eyes briefly and took another deep breath. “Yes, I did. And I will keep my word. Even if it kills me to do so.”

  Lauren didn’t understand what he meant by that, but as the small silver ship turned away from his home world, she did understand that it would be a while before she saw Earth again.

  She didn’t know where Xairn was taking her, but it wasn’t home—not yet.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  “Am I going to die now?” Kat tried to keep her voice even and nonchalant but she couldn’t help the little tremble that crept in as she stared at the poisoned knife in Lock’s hand. “Because I don’t feel any different.”

  “The effects of the kusax are not immediate,” Lock said in a low voice. He threw the dagger away with a quick, jerky motion, like a man getting rid of a deadly snake. “But we should not speak of that now. We need to get back to the ship.”

  “Lock’s right.” Deep spoke slowly, a stricken expression on his face. “We…we need medical attention. We must go.”

  “All right, let’s go then.” Kat got unsteadily to her feet, shaking off the helping hands of both brothers. She wanted to know that she could still get up and move around on her own—wanted to feel that she was still all right, no matter what they said about the stupid Scourge knife that had scratched her. She headed in the direction of the beach and then stopped. “Wait a minute, what about Lauren?”

  There was a suddenly muted roaring sound and a rush of wind. From further down the abandoned battlefield a small silver Kindred ship rose into the air. It hovered for a moment and then shot straight up, disappearing into the smoggy sky.

  “There’s your answer,” Deep said, pointing. “Xairn has gone and he’s taken Lauren with him.”

  “How can you be sure he took her with him?” Kat demanded. “What if she’s still here, wandering around in this horrible place?”

  “He would not have left her,” Lock said quietly. “He loves her, my lady—could you not tell?”

  “I know that Lauren seemed to be very fond of him…” Kat frowned. “But Xairn’s still a Scourge. And I don’t know if I could tell that he loved her.”

  “His heart was given,” Deep said. “It was clear—at least to another male who has given his heart.”

  “And how would you know? When did you ever give anything to anyone but pain?” Lock asked but his voice was more weary than angry.

  Kat held out her hands. “Don’t start guys, okay? Let’s just do a quick search to make sure Lauren’s not here and then we can assume she went with Xairn. All right?”

  “A very quick search.” Lock frowned. “We need to get you home, my lady. To see if there is anything…anything Sylvan can do for you.”

  Kat put a hand on her hip. “Do me a favor and stop acting like I have one foot in the grave, okay? For your information I feel perfectly fine. In fact I don’t have a bit of pain and—”

  At that moment the alpha guard sat straight up and began laughing. The black knife blade still protruded from the center of its massive chest—there was no way it could still be alive. But somehow it was—or at least it was moving. The high, eerie cackle that came from its dead, lipless mouth froze the blood in Kat’s veins.

  “Of course you do not have pain yet, sssweet little human,” the thing said. “That comesss later, after the weaknesss has ssset in. After the green linesss reach your heart and delve deep to find your very sssoul…”

  “Oh my God!” Kat gasped as the reanimated Alpha Guard began to get up. “It’s alive. How the hell—?”

  “The AllFather is directing it, just as he was before.” Quickly, Lock scooped her into his arms. “Shoot it, Deep, and let’s be on our way. We’ve overstayed our welcome here.”

  “I think you’re right.” Pulling his weapon, Deep took careful aim and released a bright red beam of energy.

  The deadly laser blast took off the monstrous Alpha guard’s head as easily as a knife slicing through cheese. It fell from the broad shoulders and rolled on the ground at their feet, the eyes still blinking and the lipless mouth still laughing. “Die,” it whispered, so faintly Kat could barely hear it. “Sssoon you ssshall die, little human…sssoon…sssoon…” Then the guard’s body fell to its knees and collapsed slowly, its dead hands still reaching out, the thick fingers grasping the air.

  “Crap!” A chill swept over her and Kat felt like she might be sick. “That’s…that’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe it just kept moving and talking like that even after…” She shook her head, unable to finish.

  “Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here!” Deep led the way, his hand still pressed to his side.

  “But Lauren!” Kat protested. “You promised we’d look for her!”

  Lock turned reluctantly and then they saw three more of the massive guards lumbering toward them. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he told her. “But we must go now. You and Deep are both wounded. I cannot protect you both and fight off three more guards on my own.”

  They ran through the ships on the battlefield and crossed the polluted beach, the oily brown sand crunching under the twins’ booted feet. The guards behind them were gaining rapidly, probably because none of them was A—wounded or B—carrying a plus-sized woman, Kat thought, staring over Lock’s shoulder as he ran. Deep staggered along beside them, his face white and one hand fisted at his side. There was blood leaking down his leg in a dark rivulet. God, she hoped all this running wasn’t making his wound worse, though she didn’t see how it could possibly be helping any. She still didn’t even know how he could be functioning after receiving such a serious in