Devoured

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Lights off,” he muttered and the automatic sensors plunged his room into darkness. With a sigh, Garron turned on his side and closed his eyes. It was time to let the little Earth girl go now. Time to forget all the puzzling things about her and just get some sleep…

  * * * * *

  The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a different world.

  “So, Princess, I finally found your little hiding spot.” A tall human with brown hair and sharp green eyes greeted the Earth girl, Tess, as she got out of the Kindred shuttle.

  Wait—what? Where am I?

  Garron stared around himself in confusion. He appeared to be in the middle of some kind of holding area where many Kindred vehicles were parked. There was a hard black surface underfoot and some kind of metal fence surrounded the entire lot.

  Though it was past midnight on the Mother Ship, it was clearly some hours earlier here. The sky was a soft blue deepening to dusk near the horizon and several white, puffy clouds floated above. There was a warm breeze blowing that ruffled the long, flowing fronds of the alien which that stood at the end of the lot.

  Wait—a breeze? A parking area? Didn’t I just turn out the lights and go to bed? Where is my room? What is this place and how did I get here? And where is here, anyway?

  Garron looked around some more and realized he couldn’t see his own body. All right, so he was invisible—that was strange. As for where he was, judging from the fact that the Earth girl, Tess, was stepping out of a shuttle and a human was waiting to meet her, he must be on Earth. Probably in Tampa where Sylvan had said she was being extradited to. And this man waiting for her must be the authority who was taking her into custody. What had Sylvan called him? Detective…Directive…? Something like that, Garron couldn’t remember.

  “Pierce,” Tess said flatly.

  Detective Pierce Hughes—that was it! Garron remembered.

  “Hello, Princess.” His smile was more of a sneer.

  Garron frowned. If the man was an authority sent to pick her up, why did he address her in such a familiar way? Was that normal on Earth? But no, it seemed as if they knew each other.

  “What are you doing here?” Tess asked him. Though her voice didn’t tremble, Garron thought he could see fear in her eyes. Was she afraid because she was going to be punished for her crimes? Or for some other reason?

  “Oh, I think you know the answer to that, Princess.” The man walked forward and took her by the arm—or tried to. Tess jerked away from him and looked back at the shuttle driver.

  “Please! This man—”

  But the shuttle was already lifting off—apparently the driver was eager to get back to the Mother Ship.

  “This man is here to collect you, Tess.” Pierce’s green eyes narrowed. “And don’t get any cute ideas—I have a warrant for your arrest.”

  “On what grounds?” she demanded. “I’m not the one who breaks into other people’s apartments and…and…” She shook her head, clearly unable to continue.

  “Ah yes, I did make kind of a mess, didn’t I?” He tsked. “Sorry about that. But you had to know that getting some mangy mutt wasn’t going to keep you safe—keep me from taking back what’s rightfully mine.”

  “I’m not yours. I never was,” she shot back.

  Pierce’s green eyes narrowed again and his hand snaked out. Tess must have seen the move coming because she tried to duck out of the way but he was large for a human and had a long reach. His palm cracked against her face hard enough to snap her head to one side.

  Garron had been standing passively up until now, watching and trying to make sense of their conversation. But at the sight of this male hitting Tess, his blood suddenly boiled and a red curtain of rage dropped over his eyes.

  “You bastard!” He surged forward…only to find he had nothing to surge with. Though he could see and hear and smell the scents of this new world, he didn’t seem to be able to affect it in any way. He was not just invisible but incorporeal—in other words, helpless to protect the little female.

  “Leave me alone!” Tess took a step back, her hand going to the red mark growing on her creamy cheek. “I’m not going with you.”

  “Oh yes you are, or did you forget I have a warrant?” He took a step towards her.

  “Stay away.” Now her voice trembled as she backed away, trying to put distance between them. “I…I’ll tell everyone in the entire HKR building what you are—what you do. I won’t go quietly!”

  “Oh yes you will.” Pierce continued to advance. “Because I’ve already given everyone a heads up that I’m here to escort an escaped lunatic back to where she belongs. I told them not to worry if you shouted or screamed or made crazy accusations—after all, delusional people do that sometimes.”

  “You…you’ll never get away with that. Not everyone will believe you.” Tess was beginning to sound desperate now.

  “If you mean your good friend Di—who I’m pretty sure had something to do with you hiding up on that fucking ship in the first place—don’t worry about her. It’s her day off. By the time she comes in tomorrow morning, you’ll be long gone.”

  “No, I won’t!” She looked poised to flee but Pierce just laughed.

  “Look around you, Princess—where are you going to go? This lot is completely fenced off and we’re all alone out here. The only way out is through the HRK building.”

  “I…” Tess scanned the area desperately. She had the look of a hunted creature—one who is caught in the shadow of the predator and knows there is no escape.

  Pierce seemed to know that. He took one long stride forward and grabbed her by the upper arm. Garron saw his grip tighten as his fingers bit into her soft flesh.

  Tess gave a choked cry as he pulled her to him. Pierce cut it short with a brutal, bruising kiss. She pushed and beat against his chest but he gripped her by her long hair and didn’t let her go until he seemed to feel he had established mastery. Then he broke the kiss abruptly and slapped her hard across the mouth.

  At the sight of another male touching Tess, taking her mouth, hurting her, Garron felt like he was going to explode with rage. The dr’gin within him woke and roared angrily. How dare this fucking bastard hurt her? How dare he lay so much as a finger on her? I’ll kill him—rip him to shreds! I’ll—

  But there was nothing he could do. Nothing but watch as Pierce shook the little Earth girl angrily.

  “You little slut,” he said in a low voice, throbbing with rage. “Look at this get-up your wearing—no better than a prostitute.” He shook her again, glaring at the black lace dress she had on. “But I guess that’s just about right because I hear you’ve been hiding in a fucking whore house. Were you happy up there, Princess? Did you get enough Kindred cock to finally fill you up?”

  “It wasn’t like that!” Tess protested, still trying to pull away from him. “It was just a place to hide. I never did anything with anyone! I would never—”

  “Fucking little liar,” he snarled. “That big blond Kindred, Commander Sylvan, told me you’d been caught by one of the customers when you went with him to his room. What the hell were you doing in his room if it wasn’t fucking him?”

  “He just held me.” Tess was still trying to put on a brave face but Garron could see the tears rolling silently down her cheeks—marked red where Pierce had hit her. “I swear it’s true. We didn’t do anything else.”

  “Lying little whore.” Pierce spat on the ground contemptuously. “You think I believe that? Stop lying right now or your punishment is going to be even worse when I get you home.”

  “You’re not even taking me to the station, are you?” Tess said dully. “You probably don’t even have a warrant. Why would you need one? You can just flash your badge and everyone believes you.”

  “One of the many benefits of being one of Tampa’s finest, my dear.” He laughed angrily and yanked her roughly towards the back door of the large building. “Come on, let’s get you home and decontaminate you. I want you nice and clean before I sho
ve my dick in you again.”

  “I don’t want that—I don’t ever want to do that with you again.” Tess sounded frightened now. “If you do that to me it’ll be rape.”

  Pierce laughed again, sounding genuinely amused this time.

  “Stupid little slut—a husband can’t rape his own wife. Ask anyone.”

  “Why can’t you just let me go?” Tess begged as he dragged her towards the door. “Why, Pierce? There’s nothing special about me. Why can’t you just let me have the divorce and go find someone else?”

  “Don’t want anyone else, Princess. I just want you. Because like I told you, you’re mine. Mine to punish, mine to fuck…mine to do whatever I want with until I get tired of you. Which might be pretty fucking soon the way you’ve been acting.” He shook her roughly. “So you’d better straighten up and fly right pretty quick.”

  “I can’t pretend to be something I’m not. I don’t belong to you—I don’t want to be with you,” Tess said desperately. “Why can’t you understand that?”

  Pierce eyed her narrowly.

  “You’ll pay for that little remark once we get home. Let me see…should I use the belt or the cane? Because whoring around is definitely a whipping offense. I think you need a few bruises on your backside to remind you who you belong to, Princess.”

  Tess’s big dark eyes widened.

  “No—Pierce, please.”

  He shook his head. “Guess I’ll decide later. For now, just shut your pretty little mouth and keep it shut while we go through the building. Remember, everyone in here thinks you’re crazy and a criminal. Mouthing off won’t get you a damn thing but more punishment.”

  Then he opened the door and dragged her into the HKR building, and out of Garron’s line of sight.

  Garron tried to follow, to find out where Tess was going—where Pierce was taking her. But it was no use. He suddenly felt like he was being yanked backwards, up into the sky and away from the scene of brutality and shame he had just witnessed. Away from the little Earth girl who was clearly in desperate trouble.

  Trouble I put her in, Garron thought as the surface of the Earth receded, becoming nothing but a large blue and green ball in the blackness of space. I turned her in—I got her kicked off the ship and that bastard was waiting for her. Waiting to swoop in and do Gods know what to her the minute he got her alone.

  She’s in pain…in danger and it’s all my fault. All my fault. All my…

  “Fault.” He spoke the last word aloud and found himself sitting straight up in bed.

  In bed…was it just a dream then? But no—he could still smell the tropical air, still hear Tess’s soft, broken voice begging to be left alone. He could still see that bastard touching her…threatening her…hurting her.

  This dream was real. It was happening. Garron didn’t know how he knew but he did. It was real and he had to do something about it.

  It was still dark in his room but the lighted chronometer by the side of his bed showed that only an hour had passed since he had drifted off to sleep.

  “Lights!” he roared and was getting out of bed even before they came on, illuminating his small room in a soft glow. He pulled on his flight leathers, boots, and his royal blue uniform shirt without taking time to button it. Then he ran out the door, not even bothering to make sure it shut behind him.

  Nothing was important right now but Tess. He was still true to Nella’s memory but he was certain his lost love wouldn’t want him to sit idly by while an innocent girl was tortured. He had to get down to Earth and find her. Had to find her before it was too late.

  Chapter Ten

  The trip down to Earth took longer than he liked and Garron cursed the fact that he didn’t yet have clearance to pilot a Kindred shuttle himself. Truth had taught him how to drive one on their way from Pax to the Mother Ship but until he passed his clearance exam with Baird who was the head flight instructor, Garron was reliant on others for transportation.

  When they finally touched down in back of the Tampa HKR building, all his fears and suspicions were confirmed. Not only was the scenery exactly what he had seen in his dream, Tess’s sweet scent still lingered in the air. It was delicate and feminine—and laced with the bitterness of fear. Another male couldn’t have smelled it—not even another Kindred. But Garron was completely attuned to her now. He could have followed her scent for miles or picked her out of a crowd of thousands.

  He didn’t know why he felt such a strong connection to her—he couldn’t explain it and didn’t want to. Examining it too closely might reawaken the voice of his guilt. Right now, all he cared about was finding her and making sure she was safe.

  And after that I’ll deal with that sick bastard that hit her. That son of a bitch, Pierce…

  The dr’gin stirred within him, growling approval. Yes, it was going to feel wonderful to plow his fist right between those narrow green eyes and rip out Pierce’s throat with his teeth, to bathe in his blood and crack his skull open to get to his brains…

  Be careful! warned a little voice in his head. Is that you talking…or the dr’gin? Because if you let it out, no one will be safe. Pierce won’t be the only one you hurt. Everyone will die if you can’t control yourself and the beast within.

  Yes, that was true. Garron took a deep breath. The first thing to concentrate on was finding Tess. His dream had ended before he saw where she was taken but he could always follow his nose.

  Accordingly, he followed her sweet scent through the quiet and minimally staffed HKR building, out the front door, and onto the steps in front of the building that led down to a paved road where alien vehicles were zooming back and forth.

  But there, to his dismay, the scent trail ended as though it had been cut off with a knife. Garron cast about, lifting his face high in the air, trying to find where she’d gone. Nothing. He watched as the alien vehicles whizzed past him, their round black wheels gripping the road and leaving the stink of rubber and exhaust in their wake. Possibly—no probably—Tess had been forced into one of those primitive conveyances. If the windows and doors had all been closed, there was no way for her scent to escape. Pierce could have taken her back to his domicile to do whatever he wanted with her. Even now he might be—

  Garron choked off the thought. He couldn’t bear to consider it.

  Just then, one of the alien vehicles—a small blue one—came to a screeching halt in front of the HKR building. An older Earth woman with neatly trimmed, graying hair jumped out and ran up the steps without giving Garron a second glance. He watched as she threw open the glass door and scanned the interior of the building rapidly.

  “Joseph? Joe!” she yelled at one of the building attendants. “Look, I just got a call from Maria. Is it true that the police came and took some girl away from here not long ago?”

  “I dunno,” a man’s voice answered. “Ask Maria.”

  Garron’s heart leapt and he followed the woman quickly into the building. She must be talking about Tess—so maybe she would know where Pierce had taken her.

  “Maria, please…” The woman was talking to a girl who was standing behind the information counter. “You told me on the phone a girl was caught hiding on the Kindred ship and she got taken away by the police—is that right?”

  “Well, sure.” The girl shrugged as though it was of no importance. “But it wasn’t like a big deal. I mean, they didn’t come in with their lights and sirens blazing or anything. Actually, it was just one detective—a really nice looking guy with green eyes. He showed me his badge and everything.”

  “And the girl. Was she about this tall with long, dark brownish-red hair and big dark eyes?” The woman made a motion to indicate Tess’s height.

  “Uh-huh, yeah.” The girl frowned. “Why, do you know her? I just called to give you a heads up in case you had to think of something to tell the tourists tomorrow. I didn’t know—”

  “And how long ago did it happen?” the woman demanded.

  “I dunno—a couple hours I guess. I called you
as soon as I took my break.”

  “Shit!” The woman put a hand to her forehead. “Shit, shit, shit.”

  “I’m sorry, Di. I just—”

  “No, it’s not you. It’s not your fault—you did the right thing calling me. Thank you, Maria.” The woman, whose name was apparently Di, ran a hand through her neat gray hair. “Damn it, that bastard…” she muttered under her breath, moving away from the counter. She pulled out a handheld device and began tapping at it.

  This seemed like a good time to Garron—it was clear this woman knew Tess so maybe he could get some information about her.

  “Excuse me,” he began as she put the device to her ear.

  “Not now.” She didn’t even look at him. “Hello? Tampa PD? I need to know if you took my friend into custody tonight. Yes, I’m trying to find her so I can pay her bail. Her name is Tess…Tess Evans or it might be under Evans-Hughes. Yes, I’ll hold.”

  “Excuse me,” Garron said again, beginning to get frustrated. “I need to talk to you.”

  The woman named Di barely glanced at him. “If you’re trying to get on one of the tours, you have to sign up at the information desk. Over there.” She gestured over her shoulder and went back to her device. “Yes, you spell her name T-e-s-s E-v—”

  “I’m not here for a tour,” Garron growled. “I’m here for Tess.”

  “What?” Clearly he had her full attention now. “What do you know about Tess? And how do you know her anyway?”

  “I know she’s in trouble. And the way I know is…” He sighed. “Because I’m the one who put her there.”

  “What?” She let the personal communication device sag. “Who are you?”

  “I’m the one who turned Tess in to the authorities.” Garron hated admitting it but there was no sense in lying—the ugly truth would come out eventually. “I didn’t know why she was hiding or anything about her,” he said in a low voice. “I only knew I was angry when I found out she wasn’t…what she was pretending to be.”

  “So you got mad because you couldn’t screw her is that it?” Di demanded, her eyes blazing. She slapped him hard on the chest with her free hand.