Kristar (Bookstrand Publishing Romance)

by D Renee Bagby

  “Stolen?”

  “No. I do not know how it came to be in her possession. I know she has it and she must be present before me in order for me to get it back. I can retrieve my property in no other way.”

  Chigaru shook his head. “Decline.”

  The female’s words were true, but she left something unspoken. That omission interested Chigaru the most. Much could be learned from what a bhresya didn’t say as opposed to what they did.

  She refused to give a name to the possession she had lost. If he asked her about it, he doubted she would answer. That alone justified denying her request. When a mage lost something their magic couldn’t retrieve, the item should remain lost.

  Silny asked, “You would turn down the chance to find your true mate, to know love?”

  “She exists. I can find her myself.”

  “No, you cannot.” A slow, knowing smile curved her lips. “Fate is cruel to you, Hell Hound. She gives you a true mate but puts her out of your reach. Without my help, you will never hope to meet her. Only her love is strong enough to eclipse the emotions you have for your queen.”

  “Not possible.” He couldn’t imagine a woman capable of making him love her more than he loved Serenity. Such a woman didn’t exist in all of creation and beyond. Serenity was life to him. Even if he wished it, no other woman could hope to usurp that spot.

  “Such is the power of a true mate. That is what drives your queen to choose her husband over you. Your feelings are the same, yet he holds a place in her heart you will never touch. That place will always make him first in her thoughts.”

  It pained Chigaru to hear it, but the truth could be nothing else but painful. Serenity may love him as much today as she did before her marriage, but she loved her husband more. Chigaru couldn’t imagine a love beyond what he felt for Serenity. But Silny insisted on its existence.

  He still didn’t trust her. “Price?”

  “To be paid by your mate when you return with her.”

  “Answer my question.”

  Silny’s orange and green eyes held his in a steady gaze, but he could see her uncertainty. She didn’t want to tell him. Her hesitance and the pain that made her frown ever so slightly as her eyes glistened with unshed tears also revealed her desperation.

  She dropped her gaze long enough to take a deep breath. When she lifted her eyes once more, she had composed herself. All traces of her earlier anguish had vanished. “Your mate has a power that is the key to what I desire. That is why she must be present before me in order for me to retrieve it.”

  “What does it unlock?”

  “The memories of the first three hundred and twenty-eight years of my life. Someone has locked my past away from me. For what purpose I do not know, but I aim to get it back.”

  “Such a curse has a reason. Leave it alone.”

  She laughed while shaking her head. “You sound like my husband now. I refuse. There might be a reason for my forced amnesia, but the cost is too high. Do you remember your mother, Hell Hound?”

  “Yes.” He had not seen her in decades but he remembered her.

  “I cannot remember mine. I would not know her if I saw her. I have no recollection of my childhood. I do not know how I met my husband. If not for my love for him, if not for him being my true mate, I would question why I should remain with him.” She took a step closer to him. “Do you understand now, why I am willing to help you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you help me and, in doing so, help yourself?”

  A true mate. A woman whose love would overshadow his feelings for Serenity. A release from the torment of seeing but never being able to touch. Did he dare chance it? What if Silny’s memories were sealed for good reason? To return them without knowing why they were taken was reckless. Her situation was a pitiable one but restoring her might cause more harm than good. A release from his torment wasn’t worth such a price.

  He asked, “Why must I have your help?”

  “She is not on Gezane. You must cross the veil of dimensions to find your true mate, Hell Hound. Only you, who are connected to her through Fate, can make the journey.”

  “You are separating me from Serenity.”

  “Yes. The journey will separate you from your queen, but the other Hell Hounds are more than capable of guarding her while you are absent. You are wise to be suspicious, but I have no desire or intention of attacking your queen. I only want the return of what was taken from me.”

  “You call her my queen. You do not claim her.”

  “She is the queen of all bhresyas. I am bhresya.”

  “You do not say those statements together.”

  “You wish to see danger where there exists none. I am no threat to your queen.”

  “For now. The return of your memories could change that.”

  “If that time comes, you will deal with me accordingly.”

  “You admit there might exist danger in the return of your memories?”

  She nodded. “I would be a fool to think there is nothing in my past that might be harmful. I wish only the chance to know for sure.”

  Chigaru studied her, looking for some tell that would reveal the truths she refused to speak. He couldn’t let the prospect of gaining his true mate blind him to his duty as a Hell Hound. Serenity’s safety came before anything and everything else in his life. “Tell me of this other dimension.”

  Silny gave him a smile of gratitude as though he had already agreed. He wanted to know more about the place where his true mate resided. If he went there, he needed to be prepared.

  If.

  She said, “The dimension is an alternate version of Gezane. It is the same planet yet its history is vastly different from our own. The humans dominate the planet. The few bhresya who exist there do so in human guise to hide their differences so as not to be hunted. You would have to do the same.”

  “Do I assume my mate is one of the bhresya in hiding?”

  “No. Your mate is human. In fact, your clothing matches her skin already.”

  “She is from Western Cheslav, like Serenity?”

  “Her ancestors hail from the place we know as Western Cheslav but they have not lived there for many generations. She resides on her version of Gavril, near its southeastern coast.”

  “I go to this alternate Gezane, find her, return with her, you gain your payment, and then you leave us in peace?”

  “It is as you say, though not as simply done. I can transport you there, but she is the one who must speak the spell that will transport you back. The magic must be cast at the point of origin.”

  “Will her power be enough to enact the spell?”

  “She is descendant from powerful mages though she does not willingly use magic. When she speaks the spell, it will work.”

  “What if she chooses not to leave her home?”

  “That question should be aimed at yourself, Hell Hound. She is your true mate. If she chooses not to return with you to Gezane, will you abandon her?” Silny raised a hand, stopping Chigaru’s answer. “I do not ask the question seeking an answer. I ask it so you know it when the time comes to face it.”

  If Chigaru left, he had to return. He wouldn’t forsake Serenity. “If she chooses to stay with her home and I abandon her, how do I return?”

  “The same way. She speaks the spell. So long as she is not touching you when it is spoken, she will remain on her Gezane.”

  “And your payment?”

  “I can only receive payment for a job well done. If your mate does not return here with you, then I have failed. I wish no other payment than the key.” Silny twirled her hand in the air and manifested a wax-sealed scroll that she held out to him. “This is the spell to return. Will you make the journey?”

  He hoped Serenity forgave his absence, however long it happened to be, but he couldn’t pass up this chance. A true mate meant an end to his torment. A relationship with no other woman could promise him the same.

  “I need to leave word of my depa
rture.”

  “Of course. I will remain here.”

  Chigaru regarded her for several breaths. Was he doing the right thing? Could she be trusted? A better question—did he have any other choice? Haige had told him to concede the battle and move on. Going to his true mate on this alternate Gezane was doing just that.

  With a thought, he transported to his room. He planned to leave a note. If he spoke to any other of this, they would convince him to deny Silny’s request. Reason and logic told him the same. Some force other than reason and logic spurred him to take the chance.

  He placed the note on his bed. The others would find it there in the morning when he did not show and they would take it to Serenity. He had explained the entire situation to her and hoped she would forgive him for being so selfish as to not discuss his decision with her first.

  Before he could change his mind, he transported back to Silny. She had not moved, still holding out the scroll. “Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “You will need to leave your sword. The humans of the alternate Gezane do not carry such weapons.”

  Chigaru unfastened his sword and held it out to her. He might hate carrying it, but he liked not having it even less.

  Silny took the sword and held it close to her chest. “Fear not, Hell Hound. Though you will look different, your strength and natural healing abilities will remain intact. You will be surrounded by humans. Bhresya strength is the only weapon you will need.”

  He took the scroll. “How will I find her?”

  “You will not have to. The spell will put you in her path. Everything that happens afterwards is up to you.” She took a step back then held out her free hand and spoke words in a language he couldn’t understand.

  Tingling filled him as light surrounded him. The forest faded from view. Before it disappeared completely, Silny said, “Good luck.”

  The tingling stopped and Chigaru found himself in a strange location that made no sense. Colored lights on buildings lit up the night. He heard music and laughter. Humans milled around him, paying him no heed.

  He looked down. Where he should see his normal dark orange skin, there was the skin of a pale human. His claws had been replaced by useless human fingernails. He ran his tongue over his teeth and discovered his fangs were missing and his once forked tongue was one flat mass. The horns that should be sprouting from his forehead to curve in large arches in front his face were missing, as well.

  Silny’s spell had turned him human. She also swathed him in a shirt and tight, thick pants. He couldn’t say he was happy about the change. He felt his same strength, but this body would take some adjustment.

  And what about his true mate? Silny said the spell would place him in her path. He turned in place looking for a female he would recognize as his mate. He saw plenty of males, but no females.

  Perhaps the building nearest him held the answer. He walked toward it. He would need to acquaint himself with the humans of this dimension in order to survive until he found his mate. Hopefully this culture wasn’t too alien from his and he would be able to fend for himself without too much trouble.

  A screeching noise made him look behind him. He’d never heard the like and wanted to know what caused it. Bright light surrounded him. The screeching noise grew louder and was accompanied by a sound much like the cry of some strange animal. Chigaru didn’t get a chance to comprehend any of it before a metal conveyance struck him.

  * * * *

  Kitty felt delicious. Decadent even. Her body ached in all the right places. She stretched, enjoying the feel of her jersey cotton sheets rubbing against her bare nipples. She loved the feel of cotton against her skin. Most women wanted silk or satin. Give her cotton any day of the week.

  Stretching more, she groaned with satisfaction as her muscles protested moving after her activities earlier that morning. Luke was a maestro when it came to conducting her body’s pleasure. The man had magic fingers, a magic mouth…hell, he had magic everything. Why had she dumped him? She had definitely been the dumper, but after this performance she couldn’t think why she had kicked him out of her bed.

  She reached for the far side of the bed, expecting to feel Luke’s warmth. He wasn’t there. A quick assessment of the sounds of her house didn’t turn up any telltale signs of him still being there. Good. And bad. She wanted a second round before work—or would that be a fifth round?—but she couldn’t go into work tired. Being with Luke always exhausted her in a good way.

  With a sigh of resignation at having to start her day, she opened her eyes. Her languid attitude vanished in an instant.

  “Why the hell is it night?”

  She looked around the room for the clock she didn’t have, to confirm the time. This nighttime blackness couldn’t be mistaken for a storm darkening the sky. She grabbed for her phone but it wasn’t there. A note written in Luke’s scrawling chicken scratch sat in its spot. Kitty had to flip on her nightstand lamp to read it.

  You looked like you could use a sleep-in day. I set your alarm to wake you two hours later than usual. You’re welcome. ~L

  So where the hell was her phone? And why hadn’t it gone off? She set aside the note and looked around. Her phone sat on the pillow Luke had been using. That close to her head, the phone going off should have roused her. Had the battery run down?

  She picked it up and hit the power button. It was almost seven at night, which meant she would miss the start of her seven o’clock shift.

  “Fuck. Vincent is going to lay an egg.”

  The alarm notification prompted her to hit snooze or slide to shut it off. She hadn’t heard it. Why?

  A quick check of her phone revealed the alarm sound was set to none. “Now I remember why I dumped him. Idiot.”

  While it was a small mistake and Kitty herself had made it once, stuff like this was typical of Luke. He had done unnecessary things that hadn’t needed doing and then had gotten pissed off when she hadn’t appreciated how his superfluous actions had caused more work and headache for her.

  Like the time he took her car from the club parking lot to fill up the tank. Sweet gesture, but she’d had three-quarters of a tank left and nearly had a heart attack when she got off shift and thought someone had stolen her car. Luke hadn’t appreciated the cops pulling him over and trying to arrest him for car theft.

  Or the other time when he had mailed out her Christmas cards. Every card had included a picture of her so her loved ones could see her—an action shot of her swinging around the pole at work for her friends and a family-photo-type shot from a picture boutique for her relatives. Luke had given everyone one of each, and Kitty had had to spend a very annoying three hours on the phone with her irate mother who hadn’t known Kitty had started stripping.

  Yeah. The list went on and on. Every time she had forgiven him, thinking he wouldn’t do it again only to have him do something else. She hadn’t been able to stop him or make him understand why his helpfulness hadn’t helped at all. The relationship ended in shouting and door slamming.

  If they hadn’t ended it already, she would have dumped him again for making her late and having to endure one of Vincent’s lectures as well as a three-hundred-dollar fine. She stalked to the bathroom. Starting the night off in the hole was a recipe for bad.

  She rushed through a utilitarian shower before gathering her stuff and running out the door. The club was twenty minutes up the highway, which she pulled onto doing ten over the posted. She hoped there were no traffic and no cops because she planned to be speeding. Three hundred was the fine for not showing up on time. On time being an hour before the club opened. After opening, the fine went up one hundred dollars every thirty minutes.

  Kitty had only ever been late once. Giving up that much money had cured her of ever being late again. Good lay or not, she planned to make Luke pay her back every cent.

  “Idiot,” she grumbled as she pressed the accelerator and passed a slow-moving truck on the right because he wouldn’t get out of the left lane. She
prayed for no cops. It was the middle of the month. Quota time hadn’t started yet. If she did get pulled over, maybe she could talk the cop out of ticketing her by giving him a coupon for a free lap dance in the champagne room. That was a three-hundred-dollar value. Knowing her luck, a woman would pull her over. A straight woman.

  Kitty checked her mirrors for any cops that might be hiding under the darkened overpasses. Not seeing anything suspicious, she eased her way up to thirty over the posted. She had ten minutes before she owed Vincent four hundred dollars.

  Thankfully, the club was one traffic light off the highway exit. Kitty prayed that light would be green and her prayers were answered. What’s more, the roads were clear. She swung her car into the employee parking lot behind the club, not bothering to touch the brakes, which made the tires squeal. The sound had her smiling until her lights shone on a pedestrian walking across her path.

  She slammed both feet on the brakes while hitting the horn. She tried to swerve but the wheels were determined to go straight. The car stopped but not before impacting the person in front of her. She felt the man hit her car and then saw him fall.

  “Shit!” Kitty struggled with her seatbelt while trying to open the door and put the car in park at the same time. “Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. Don’t be hurt either, but definitely don’t be dead.”

  The battle to get out of the car ended with Kitty falling to the pavement in her rush to see if she had killed the man she hit. What the hell was he doing walking around the back of the club? Was he drunk? Was he alive?

  “Are you okay? I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry. Please say you’re okay.” Kitty stared at the man lying on the ground and waited for him to talk. If he could still talk. She hoped his dazed expression was shock and not a death stare. “Hello?”

  “I am uninjured,” the man said in a rough, raspy voice. He sat up and winced as he grabbed his side.

  “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t see you and I was rushing and I’m very sorry. Are you sure you’re okay?”