Dark and Light: A Kindred Tales DUET Novel. Contains: Saved by the Drake AND Captured by the Kru'ell One

by Evangeline Anderson

  Alli didn’t like the sound of that at all.

  “Do you really have to go? Can’t you make some kind of excuse?”

  Kane frowned.

  “If you had ever met the Overlord, you’d know that no excuse would be good enough to miss an event he has personally invited you to. No…” He shook his head. “We’ll have to make an appearance.” He stabbed a finger at Alli. “But you are going to have to keep a low profile, Allisandra. I don’t want you drawing any unwanted attention to yourself.”

  Alli frowned.

  “Unwanted attention? From who? And how can I keep a low profile?”

  “You’ll have to act like all the other concubines,” Kane told her.

  “But…how do they act?” Alli shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’ll see,” he said darkly. “Gods, I hate to subject you to this, but I have no choice.” He shook his head. “At least it’s only one event. We should be able to get through a single feast with no incident…I hope.”

  Alli hoped so too, but she had a bad feeling about the upcoming feast. A very bad feeling indeed.

  Twenty-Four

  The Earth of Kane’s universe was a gray and colorless place.

  Part of that was because of the thick layer of clouds which blanketed the entire planet. Kane had explained that the sensitive eyes of the Kru’ell Ones, which were capable of seeing into another person’s soul, were ill-adapted to stand direct sunlight. Using terraforming machines, the Kru’ell Ones had covered the Earth in clouds, remaking the planet in their own image and better suiting it to their needs.

  They had bent the humans who lived there to their will as well. Alli saw that first-hand as Kane drove his shuttle through the streets of Washington DC. In her world, the US government still had its buildings and institutions in the capital city. On Kane’s Earth, these had been removed or rebuilt for the use of the Kru’ell One Kindred who had taken over.

  The streets which led to the Overlord’s palace—which was located where the White House had been—were muted and colorless. Ordinary people were out and about, but all of them were dressed in plain, gray, shapeless garments. In fact, the only bit of color Alli saw on any of them was a kind of insignia worn either on the left breast or the right sleeve of their clothing.

  When she asked Kane about it, he explained that the various markings denoted which industry a human worked in or which Kru’ell One household they were attached to. As he explained it, this made for easier identification if the human in question got lost or injured.

  Alli was appalled.

  “So they’re like slaves?” she demanded. “Or like pets with chips in their necks?”

  Kane frowned.

  “More like…worker bees. They keep the planet running smoothly, not just for the Kru’ell Ones but also for themselves.”

  “Because they have no choice!” Alli exclaimed.

  “Look at them, Allisandra,” he said flatly. “Do they look like they want a choice?”

  Taking a closer look at the faces of the people on the streets of the formerly bustling city, Alli saw that he was right. She saw no emotion on any of them. All eyes looked straight ahead, intent on their tasks but not wondering or thinking, or planning ahead, not happy or sad or mad—just blank.

  “This is terrible,” she said in a low voice, too shaken to even be angry. “They’re like robots…zombies.”

  “They’re at peace,” Kane argued, but Alli thought he looked slightly uncomfortable as he said it. “It’s the effect of the Calm—the drug they all take every day. It wipes out any aggression they might be feeling and replaces it with peaceful feelings.”

  “They don’t look like they’re having any feelings at all,” Alli objected. “How can you think this is all right? To do this to another race of people?”

  Kane frowned.

  “Personally, I’m not in favor of it—I voted against giving such a high dosage. But the Overlord has the final say and he doesn’t like to be bothered with insurrection. It was either give the humans Calm, or subjugate them with force. Using the drug instead saved millions—perhaps billions of human lives.”

  “But what did you save them for? To live like zombies?” Alli asked. “To walk through the world in a fog, never truly knowing themselves or anyone else, never experiencing any love or joy or excitement?”

  “Or pain or jealousy or greed or anger,” Kane countered. He sighed and shook his head. “This is what I’ll miss about you, baby. Your spark—your fire.”

  “Of course you’ll miss it,” Alli snapped. “Because you certainly can’t get it from any of the drugged zombies around here! I’m surprised you can get any kind of nourishment at all from these people, if you feed from emotions as you claim to.”

  Kane frowned.

  “The dosage of Calm is decreased for a female once she’s chosen as a concubine. But her emotions are still muted, I admit.”

  “Will you also admit that this is wrong?” Alli made a gesture, encompassing the gray, silent streets with the gray, silent people shuffling along them.

  His frown deepened.

  “It is the way things are, Allisandra. Let it drop.”

  “I won’t let it drop!” she exclaimed. “I’m surprised you’re not ashamed of yourself to be affiliated with all this. What would the Goddess say?”

  “We have no Goddess,” Kane growled. “My people were created by the Cruel Father. He sent us out into the universe to subjugate and to feed on those weaker than ourselves. So that’s what we fucking do.”

  Alli shook her head.

  “You can say this is fine, but I don’t think you really believe it, Kane.”

  “What I believe, is my business. Your business is to keep your mouth shut during this feast and not draw attention to yourself.” His gravelly voice had dropped to a menacing growl and he shot her a warning look.

  Alli glared at him.

  “So all this time you’ve been so sweet to me, making love to me—or should I say ‘giving me your seed’—holding and cuddling me because you knew I craved it—pretending you cared about my opinion—all of that was just an act to you? And now you want me to be as dull and lifeless as the poor humans from your own universe that you’ve drugged into submission?”

  “I want you to be safe, God’s damn it!” Kane’s words were a muted roar in the confines of the small shuttle-car. His eyes flashed as he turned to Alli. “Don’t draw attention to yourself,” he growled. “Don’t let them know you’re different. Just keep your place by my side and stay silent so we can get through this. Do you understand?”

  Alli’s mouth was suddenly dry. He hadn’t shown this side of himself before and his fury was frightening. But despite her fear, she thought she understood.

  He’s not really angry at me, she thought, looking into his mirrored eyes. He’s afraid for me—afraid that if I draw attention to myself I’ll be in danger.

  “That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” Kane said shortly. “You’re already too fucking beautiful for your own good. I don’t need the other Kru’ell Ones to see your spirit and covet you for that as well.” He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his shaved head. “I’m sorry you don’t like the state of your world in my universe, but you’ll be leaving it soon enough. So can you please just keep your feelings to yourself long enough for us to get through the feast and get away?”

  “I suppose so,” Alli said stiffly. She shook her head. “After seeing all this, I’ll be glad to go home.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Kane growled. “Here we are—remember to act like all the other concubines,” he added as he parked his shuttle on the West Lawn of what had once been the White House.

  The structure of the original building still stood, Alli saw, but the building had been painted a foreboding dark gray and surrounded by a high, black, spiked fence. Paired with the banks of gloomy, lowering clouds above it, what had once been a symbol of liberty and justice was now an ominous sight.

  A dict
ator lives there now, Alli thought, feeling her stomach knot into a fist of tension. He’s taken a place of democracy and freedom and twisted it—perverted it. He has silenced the voice of the people—or did his best to silence it, anyway. What has happened to the country and the world I once loved?

  She didn’t know—she only knew it made her sick with fear and dread as Kane came around to her side of the shuttle and helped her out. What other atrocities would she see when she went with him to the feast?

  Alli simply didn’t know, but she was terribly afraid she was about to find out.

  Twenty-Five

  “Your concubine can wait with the others in the Harem Complex,” the guard told Kane, as they entered the Overlord’s fortress. “There is a meeting of the Council before the feast can begin.”

  Kane stiffened, his hands curling into fists at his sides. He didn’t like the idea of Allisandra being out of his sight for an instant but there was little choice. If he insisted on dragging his concubine with him into the Council meeting, the Overlord would want to know why. That, in turn, would draw unwanted attention to his lovely little female and the others might want to know why she was so different…so alluring.

  No, he decided, he would have to let her go. There was one thing he could do to protect her, though.

  “She can go,” he told the guard. “But I want a Peace Cloak for her to wear first.”

  The guard’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.

  “Something special is she?” he asked, frowning as he looked Allisandra up and down.

  “She’s mine and I don’t want any other male getting ideas,” Kane said sharply. “As long as we’re here in the Overlord’s complex, I want her in a Peace Cloak.”

  The guard shrugged.

  “Suit yourself. Servant!” he shouted at one of the humans dressed in gray who were busily traversing the corridors.

  An older woman with hair as gray as her garments came quickly.

  “Yes, Kru’ell One? How may I be of service?” she asked blandly.

  “A Peace Cloak is needed—now!” the guard snapped. “Be quick about it.”

  The human servant nodded and scuttled off. She was back very shortly with a long, royal blue cloak which fastened at the neck and had a matching hood attached to it. She held it out mutely.

  “Thank you.” Kane took it from her and turned to Allisandra. “Here—let me put this on you.”

  He swept it around her shoulders and fastened it securely at her throat before standing back and taking her in. She looked good, he decided. The Peace Cloak was a clear sign of ownership—no other Kru’ell One would approach her as long as she was wearing it.

  “Good,” he said aloud, speaking to the guard though he was looking at Allisandra. “Now she’s untouchable. As long as she keeps on the cloak, no other Kru’ell One will dare to bother her.”

  The guard nodded.

  “Can I take her to the Harem Complex now?”

  “I suppose so.” Kane still hated letting her out of his sight, but at least now with the Peace Cloak she had a measure of protection. He just prayed that she would keep a low profile and not draw any attention to herself.

  Catching her eye, he gave Allisandra a stern look.

  “Go with the guard,” he told her. “I’ll see you at the feast.”

  Allisandra’s lovely green eyes widened under the royal blue hood and she nodded.

  “Yes, Master,” she said softly. “I…I’ll see you at the feast.”

  And then Kane had to watch as she followed the guard away to the Harem complex.

  As she walked away, he thought of their conversation on the way here. He’d never spoken to a human about what they thought of what had been done to their world, he realized. To him it had seemed right—necessary even.

  The humans had been in the process of destroying their planet and themselves when the Kru’ell One Kindred had found them. That was all changed now—there were no more wars, no more crime, no more hunger or poverty and the climate was almost back to normal.

  But no more emotions either, he thought, watching the gray-clad servants moving silently through the halls as he found his way to what had once been the Oval Office. No more free will.

  For the first time, he questioned the actions of his people. Of course, the Kru’ell Ones had never been purveyors of peace. They conquered every world they landed on, subjugated every race they came in contact with. They had always assumed it was their God-given right.

  But what makes us better than them? Kane asked himself as he looked again at the servants. Why should we dominate them instead of working with them the way the Kindred in Allisandra’s universe have done?

  He had no answers for these extremely uncomfortable questions and he knew better than to ask them of the Overlord, who was known to rule with an iron fist.

  Kane sighed. Maybe later he could start to make some changes but for now, his first order of business had to be getting himself and Allisandra through the feast without any kind of an incident or drawing any attention to his lovely little female.

  It was the only way he could take her home to her own universe where she would be safe.

  Twenty-Six

  “This way,” the guard said and led Alli through the maze of hallways until they came to a concealed elevator.

  This must be the way to the secret bunker, Alli thought as she followed him uneasily into the dimly lighted box which had only one button marked with a down arrow. Or what used to be the secret bunker. The place the Secret Service hid the President if he was threatened.

  And now it was apparently the Harem Complex. The place where women who were eligible to become concubines to the Kru’ell Ones were kept until they were chosen one by one, like pieces of ripe fruit to be devoured.

  The thought made her shiver and she was glad for the soft, warm fabric of the Peace Cloak that Kane had draped over her shoulders before they parted. Apparently the cloak imparted some kind of protection from other Kru’ell Ones, which was good. From the way Kane had spoken about the others of his kind, Alli had an idea they were a bunch of sadists—especially the Overlord whom she was not looking forward to meeting.

  The elevator seemed to take a long time to descend and the guard ignored her. So Alli had nothing to do but stare down at her feet. She was wearing soft black slippers that went with the gauzy black dress Kane had given her to wear. It was sheer but not see-through and for once there were no holes for her nipples or pussy to show through.

  All in all, it was the most modest garment she’d worn since she’d first come to stay at the big Kru’ell One’s fortress. Alli had an idea that Kane wanted to shield her from the prying eyes of the others of his kind. She was grateful not to have to go naked or mostly naked in front of a bunch of strangers.

  At last the elevator dinged and the doors opened onto a luxurious area with thick, soft blue carpet and dove-gray walls. The large sitting room they stepped out into was dotted with leather padded armchairs and comfortable looking couches arranged in groups around little round tables, like tiny islands in a carpeted sea. It reminded Alli of one of those informal bistros where they wanted you to feel like you were relaxing at home while the wait staff served you ridiculously overpriced lattes.

  There were women seated at the various islands but none of them were talking very much. Most of them were just smiling vaguely, staring off into the distance as though thinking serene thoughts. Or maybe not thinking about anything at all.

  They must still be under the effects of the Calm drug Kane talked about, Alli thought, looking at them with a frown. She supposed she would have to emulate them in order not to draw attention to herself. Accordingly, she pasted a vaguely content smile on her own face as she looked around the room.

  “Here’s the Harem,” the guard said to her, unnecessarily, Alli thought, as he ushered her into the large underground room. “Pick a seat and wait. Your Master will come back for you when he’s ready, before the feast.”

  As he spoke, Alli looke
d for a good place to sit—though every seat was about the same as every other. At least in terms of the Stepford Wife-like company she could expect, she thought.

  Then she caught a motion from the corner of her eye. A beautiful girl with long black hair had a book in her lap. She was sitting in the far corner and she had clearly been absorbed in reading. But the moment she heard the guard’s voice, she flinched and whisked the book out of sight, under a fold of the gauzy pink garment she wore.

  Alli felt a twist of excitement.

  Ah-ha—somebody with a working brain in this zombie factory!

  The minute the elevator doors dinged shut behind the guard, she headed for the girl and took a seat on the couch right beside her.

  The girl was pretending to stare blankly off into space but Alli saw her glance over for a quick moment, as though wanting to see what her company was like. Taking a chance, she decided to try and strike up a conversation.

  “Sure is gloomy down here,” she murmured, keeping her voice low, though the other Stepford Wives didn’t seem to notice much of anything going on around them.

  The girl risked another glance in her direction.

  “Who are you?” she whispered. “Are you an Immune?”

  “A what?” Alli frowned and turned to her. “What’s that?”

  “You know—someone who’s immune to the effects of Calm.” The girl glanced all around at the other concubines, all sitting and staring blankly into space. “None of them are—but you’re different.”

  “So are you,” Alli pointed out. “I take it you’re an Immune yourself?”

  The girl gave a quick nod.

  “It runs in my family—it’s like a genetic resistance to the drug. There are others too—the Resistance. Haven’t you heard of them? You must have since you seem to be an Immune yourself.”

  Alli shook her head.

  “I don’t honestly know if I’d be immune to Calm or not. I’ve never had any.”