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  “New…ship,” the prisoner groaned. “Got it from…Trissian navigator. Don’t know…how…it works.”

  “Ah yes, a Trissian,” Draven mused. “Still known for their thieving ways, I see. But the question is, who did he get the ship from?”

  “Said he…modified it himself,” the Tranq Prime male whimpered. “Got the plans from a spy probe during…a raid.”

  “And who was he probing?” Draven massaged the eyeball cruelly, pinching hard to tug the bulging blue eye from its socket.

  The prisoner gave a hoarse scream. “I don’t know! I don’t know! I swear to the Goddess, I don’t know!”

  “Mmm, that’s unfortunate for you, my friend,” Draven murmured, still tugging at the reluctant left eye. “Because you see, we’ve examined your ship and the mechanism seems to have burned out. It’s a twisted hunk of junk—there’s just no way to find out how it works—or worked, anyway.” He dropped his hand abruptly and wiped his fingers on his immaculately tailored Frenez skin slacks. “I’m growing tired of this. Is there really nothing else of use you can tell me?”

  “I’ll tell you anything,” the prisoner babbled, blinking his wounded but still intact left eye rapidly. It was leaking clear fluid and Draven doubted the male would ever have full vision in it again, but that wasn’t his problem. “Anything at all,” the prisoner repeated, sobbing.

  “Yes, but do you have anything useful to tell,” Draven said impatiently. “You see, my spies saw a star-duster doing the exact same thing you were—making its own worm holes—not too long ago. Unfortunately, the imp on duty neglected to tell me of this very interesting anomaly until it was too late and the ship was gone.” He laughed charmingly. “Heads rolled on that day—I can tell you. And I do mean that literally. There’s a most amusing game one can play with imp heads and a hungry tantor…but I digress again.”

  He sighed. “To make a long story short, I would be most interested in obtaining this new technology. I’m certain you can see why. It would be infinitely useful in moving ships around in space and one wouldn’t have to have a huge power source to fold space or rely on the known, unstable wormholes which are really too rare to be of much use anyway. And you could pop up unexpectedly anywhere in the universe you wanted without warning. Now wouldn’t that be fun?”

  “Don’t know.” The prisoner was blubbering now. “Don’t…don’t know. Tell you anything. Can’t think…can’t see…”

  At this mention of his vision, Draven frowned. “Yes, thank you for reminding me. I did promise to take one of your eyes, did I not?”

  The Tranq Prime male shrank back against his guards in horror. “B-but you d-did,” he stuttered. “Can’t see…left eye all…all b-blurry.”

  “Well, if you’re still getting something from the left, I supposed I’d better take the right.” Swiftly, Draven cupped the sweating cheek and dug the tip of his thumb into the prisoner’s right eye. There was a feeling of pressure and then a soft pop as his thumb pressed through into the warm, wet, jelly-filled socket.

  The Tranq Prime male howled in agony and jerked, trying to get free. White goo leaked from the socket and the ruined right eye lay on his cheek like a crushed grape. A blue grape, Draven thought with satisfaction as he withdrew his thumb and wiped it fastidiously on a napkin handed to him by the imp.

  “I think our business is done,” he said, nodding at the trolls. “Take our prisoner back to his ship and let him go. We’ll see how well he does flying blind.”

  The trolls dragged the Tranq Prime male away, still blubbering and the imp shut the door behind them. Draven picked up his jeweled cup and took another sip of the smooth purple Varian milk. He really had to think of some way to find out who that original star duster had belonged to. Either that or find the Trissian pirate who had scanned it. If he was going to attack and despoil all the Kindred worlds in one fell blow, he had to have that wormhole generator technology.

  “All good things to those who wait,” he murmured thoughtfully. “But I won’t be willing to wait much longer, Counselor . I have a debt to pay—one that’s been collecting interest for a thousand years.

  To be continued…

  Brides of the Kindred Glossary

  AllFather—the evil head of the Scourge, a race that are the byproduct of a failed genetic trade. The AllFather is one of the Old Ones and has the power to reach into a person’s mind to harvest emotional pain and trauma. He lives for the fulfillment of the Scourge Prophesy.

  Bespeak—to contact someone mentally using a Think-me device. It is considered rude to bespeak someone you don’t know intimately.

  Beast/Rager Kindred—come from Rageron—a jungle planet full of beautiful but deadly flora and fauna. They have dark hair, golden eyes, and hot tempers but their most defining characteristic is the mating fist. The mating fist is an area at the base of the Beast Kindred’s shaft which engages fully only during bonding sex with his chosen mate. When engorged it swells to keep the Beast Kindred and his bride locked together until she is completely bonded to him. This ensures sex that is both extremely long lasting and multiorgasmic for both partners.

  Blackness which Eats the Stars—another name for the Hoard or Grimlax, an ancient enemy of the Kindred. These beings have no souls and so are considered demonic by the Kindred.

  Blood Fever—a condition suffered by unmated females on Tranq Prime, the home world of the Blood Kindred. Blood Fever or Burning Blood as it is often called, is caused by a parasite living on the icy world that affects only women. The parasite—found in the fleeta or blood beetle—reacts with a compound in the Tranq Prime water supply to cause the fever. Symptoms include chills, increased sexual need and the feeling of the blood heating in the veins as well as increased coloration of the nipples and sex. If the fever is not treated in forty-eight hours, it will result in death.

  Once a Kindred male has had a female’s blood, he forms a natural antidote to Blood Fever which he can pass on by sharing body fluids with her. The most effective way to get the antidote into the female’s system is for a Blood Kindred to bite her, thereby injecting it along with his essence. However, it is also possible to pass along the healing fluid through sex.

  Blood Fever used to be very common on Tranq Prime which is what prompted the cold, proud natives to initiate a genetic exchange with the Kindred in the first place. A recent vaccine has nearly eradicated the disease, however, and the original inhabitants of the ice bound planet have little reason to continue the trade. A faction calling themselves Purists are against any further trade with the Kindred.

  Blood/Tranq Kindred—are blond with pale blue eyes and come from Tranq Prime where ice, snow, and arctic-like temperatures are the norm. To combat the severe weather conditions, the Blood Kindred have higher than normal body heat with double the human amount of red blood cells. They have developed specific biting rituals to share their supercharged blood and take the blood of their mates during their own version of bonding sex. They have a set of double fangs located where a human’s canine teeth would be. These fangs do not develop fully or become sharp enough to pierce flesh until a Blood Kindred is with a woman he wishes to mate and bond with.

  Bonding Ceremony—a wedding-type ritual which takes place after the Claiming Period if the bride chosen by a Kindred warrior has allowed him to have bonding sex with her and joined her mind to his.

  Bonding Sex—the extra step a Kindred warrior takes to bind his bride to him permanently during intercourse. For the Beast Kindred, it is the use of the mating fist. For the Blood Kindred, bonding sex means sex during penetration. Twin Kindred bind a bride to themselves by entering her and coming in her at the same time.

  Claiming Ceremony—a sort of engagement service that takes place when a bride is first claimed by a Kindred warrior. He declares his intentions toward her and she vows to obey the laws of the Claiming Period.

  Claiming Period—women who are drafted are required to go up to the Kindred Mothership and spend a thirty day “claiming period” with the warrior