Zaureth Awakened: 11.5 (Enigma)

by Ditter Kellen

  But then, her will to survive came crashing through. Her inner strength and determination to live as she buried something in the side of Kerik’s neck.

  She’d injured Kerik with an eating utensil. His Amy had fought her way out of that house. She had survived.

  “Easy, big guy,” Vickers murmured, pulling Zaureth back to the present. “Don’t destroy our only mode of transportation. I, for one, don’t wanna have to hitch it twenty miles back to town.”

  Zaureth cranked his head in Vickers’s direction. “Hurry. My mate lives, and she is out there, somewhere, running for her life.”

  Vaulcron leaned forward, touching Zaureth on the shoulder. “You are certain she is alive?”

  Zaureth could only growl.

  “Okay then.”

  “There’s the house,” Vickers announced a second before Zaureth yanked the car door open and jumped from the moving vehicle.

  His feet hit the ground, running. “Amy? I am here, my love. Open for me, so that I might find you!”

  Zaureth didn’t bother breaching the house. He knew Amy wouldn’t be in there any more than Kerik would. No, she was in the woods beyond, running for her life.

  Rounding the structure, Zaureth allowed his protective lenses to slide into place. His night vision became clear, along with two sets of footprints…and blood.

  All the insanity, the emotions he couldn’t control, spewed forth from him.

  He allowed them freedom, along with the humming inside his body. The powers he harnessed now were born from purpose and not grief. His mate and unborn child were out there, fleeing a madman—a madman that Zaureth intended to destroy.

  Zaureth had promised Kerik that he would peel the flesh from his bones, piece by agonizing piece. And that was a promise he would keep.

  He crashed into the woods, his senses open to his mate. He could feel her nearby, her fear and panic calling to him like a beacon.

  “Oh God, Zaureth. He’s here.”

  A shot rang out, sending Zaureth into berserker mode. “Amyyyy!”

  The power he’d experienced before was nothing compared to what welled up inside him now. Yet, he couldn’t allow it free rein and risk hurting his mate in the process.

  He exploded through the trees, fueled by rage and vengeance, until the back of Kerik’s head came into view.

  Zaureth didn’t slow. He slammed into Kerik with the force of a truck, sending him sailing through the air to land hard against the side of a tree.

  Kerik’s body was limp before he hit the ground.

  “Amy?” Zaureth desperately called out, his gaze searching the surrounding woods.

  And there she stood in the distance, her shirt ripped open down the front, and tears streaking down her face.

  She staggered forward, a half hiccup, half cry leaving her lips.

  Zaureth rushed to her side, swinging her up into his arms. He kissed her face over and over, his tears, mingling with her own. “You are alive, my mate… You are alive.”

  Amy openly cried, burying her face against his neck. “Oh, Zaureth. You’re here. You’re really here!”

  Holding her tightly against his chest, Zaureth pressed his cheek to the top of her head, his gaze scanning her body. “Are you injured?”

  “No. The bullet grazed my arm, but I don’t think it’s deep.”

  A growl he couldn’t contain slipped from his lips. Kerik had shot Amy. “Show me.”

  Amy lifted her arm, presenting Zaureth with a view of her torn flesh.

  He covered the wound with his palm, allowing all the power inside him to surface.

  It flowed into his mate, a warm, healing energy that would mend her injury.

  “Amy?”

  She stirred but didn’t lift her head.

  Zaureth hesitated. “I saw what Kerik did to you, and for that, he will suffer the most horrendous death.”

  “He didn’t rape me,” she confessed against his neck. “He wanted to, but I stuck him in the neck with a fork I’d hidden in my sock.”

  “Syrina can take the memory from you, my love. You will never have to think of Kerik again.”

  “No.” Amy lifted her head. “I don’t want to forget. I want to remember, always, what it felt like to survive.”

  Hauke, Vaulcron, Braum, Pyre, Zyen, and Vickers came crashing through the trees.

  They all stood there silently, Zaureth knew, as a show of respect for Amy and what she’d been through.

  Vickers cleared his throat. “I’ll need to call this in.”

  With Amy still held tightly in his arms, Zaureth turned to face the man who’d brought them there. “No.”

  “No?” Vickers raised an eyebrow. “We can’t just leave him out here to die. Even though that’s what he deserves. He’s still alive. He’ll have to be brought in for questioning, and —”

  “He stays where he lies.” Zaureth growled, showing his fangs.

  Vickers glanced at Amy and then met Zaureth’s gaze once again.

  Zaureth could see the indecision in his eyes.

  Without a second thought, Zaureth stepped over to Vickers and placed his hand on the man’s head.

  Zaureth opened to him, allowing Amy’s memories to pour into Vickers’s mind.

  “What are you doing?” Hauke’s voice seemed to come from far away.

  Zaureth didn’t care. Though he knew showing Vickers the Bracadytes’ ability to communicate was dangerous, he trusted the man.

  Vickers stood perfectly still, his gaze never leaving Zaureth’s. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it without a word.

  Staggering back a step, Vickers broke eye contact. He stared at Amy’s still form for a moment and then announced. “Do what you must.” With that, he turned and walked away.

  Zaureth nodded to Hauke. “Take my mate back to the vehicle. I will be along shortly.”

  Hauke didn’t respond. He simply walked forward and held out his arms.

  After placing a kiss on Amy’s forehead, Zaureth handed her to Hauke and waited for them to disappear from sight.

  He trailed over to Kerik, taking in the fear in the man’s eyes. “You will experience more pain than the human mind can comprehend.”

  Retrieving his knife from its sheath, Zaureth dropped to his haunches before the terrified Kerik. “You dared to lay hands on my mate.”

  “Please!” Kerik pleaded, scooting back as far as the tree behind him would allow. Blood still oozed from the fork wounds in his neck.

  Zaureth could see other injuries made by his Amy in her attempt to escape being raped.

  He grabbed hold of Kerik’s arm, slicing a gash above the elbow.

  Ignoring the man’s hoarse cry, Zaureth gripped the edge of the cut and slowly peeled the skin downward.

  Chapter Twenty

  No sooner had Amy been placed in the front seat of the SUV, than the sound of a distant scream filled the night.

  Vickers climbed behind the wheel, staring straight ahead. He cranked the vehicle without a word.

  Amy could see the tightness of his jaw, knew that he warred with the decision he’d made.

  Then he turned in her direction, two soft words leaving his lips. “I’m sorry.”

  Amy could only nod, as the lump in her throat didn’t allow for words.

  She leaned back against the seat, grateful for the air conditioning blowing in her face. It helped cool her heated skin and dry the tears welling in her eyes.

  She cried for Zaureth and what she knew he was now out there doing. Being a healer, taking a life couldn’t be an easy thing to do… no matter what the reasoning.

  Hauke and the others climbed into the two rows of seats behind her. No one spoke. They simply sat there as Amy did, listening to the distant screams of horror coming from those woods.

  What seemed like hours went by before Zaureth appeared at the passenger-side door. He tugged it open, lifted Amy into his arms, and then folded his great frame into the seat.

  Vickers put the SUV into reverse but then slid it ba
ck into park.

  “What are you doing?” Hauke questioned from the back seat.

  “We can’t leave the scene like this. Everyone, wait here.” Vickers climbed out and jogged off into the area Zaureth had emerged from.

  Zaureth pulled Amy tightly against him but still hadn’t spoken.

  Hauke leaned forward in his seat. “Perhaps I should go with him.”

  “No,” was all Zaureth said.

  Amy snuggled closer, loving the feel of being in her mate’s arms. She’d thought she would never see him again, let alone have him hold her.

  A few minutes ticked by, and then Vickers came jogging from the woods. He climbed back behind the wheel and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

  “This is Vickers. We have located Sandy Gardner’s house.” He grew quiet for a second. “No, we have not been inside, but send the fire department. The surrounding woods are on fire.” He hung up the phone.

  All heads immediately turned in the direction of the woods.

  Amy saw the flames licking toward the sky. It dawned on her then. Vickers had burned the body to destroy the evidence of what Zaureth had done.

  Apparently Zaureth realized that too. He finally spoke. “You did not have to do that.”

  Vickers flicked his gaze to Amy before returning his attention to Zaureth. “Yes, I did.”

  He didn’t do it for Zaureth, Amy thought in amazement. He did it for her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, before returning her head to Zaureth’s chest.

  Vickers only nodded, leaning back in his seat, obviously to wait for the stampede he knew was coming.

  In a few more minutes, the place would be crawling with law enforcement and fire trucks.

  Zaureth’s hand snaked around to Amy’s abdomen, his body growing still beneath her.

  “Zaureth?” Amy whispered through his mind. “What wrong? Is it the baby?”

  Strong emotion lined his response, his big hand spreading out against her belly. “The babies are healthy, my love.”

  She hadn’t heard him right. “Babies? Did you say babies?”

  “I did. There are two lives growing inside you. Male and female, alike.”

  She could feel the tears of happiness and stunned disbelief in his words. “Twins, Zaureth? We are having twins?”

  “We are. As far as I know, this has never happened to a Bracadyte before. It is truly a miracle.” He pressed his face against the top of her head, pulling her more firmly against him. “I love you more than I can describe, my mate. My feelings for you border on painful.”

  More tears sprang to Amy eyes. “I know, Zaureth. I can feel it, as I hope you can feel my own personal pain when it comes to you.”

  “I believe the pain stems from fear. I fear losing you on a daily basis. I cannot wait to have you home, where I can protect you. I am never allowing you out of my sight again. Ever.”

  “You won’t have to worry about that, Zaureth. I’m never leaving your side again. No matter what happens in our future, we stay together. You, me, and our babies.”

  The sounds of sirens brought Amy out of her private walk through Zaureth’s innermost feelings.

  She raised her head in time to watch several deputies, an unmarked car, and what looked to be a dozen fire trucks slide into the area.

  Vickers suddenly spoke, bringing Amy’s attention to his face. “Amy? You are still blind. Do not forget that. You will tell them exactly what happened, right up until Kerik left the house. You never did.”

  He never took his focus from her eyes. “We arrived to find you inside the house, unable to get out. I brought you to the SUV to sit with Zaureth. None of the rest of you left this car. Understood?”

  Gazing around at the vehicle’s occupants, Vickers continued. “None of you know a thing about the fire or Kerik’s whereabouts. We haven’t seen him. Are we on the same page?”

  “We understand,” Hauke confirmed from his position in the back. “We never left the vehicle. How are you to explain the fire?”

  Vickers shrugged. “I won’t have to. With as many enemies as Kerik no doubt had, there’s no telling who started that fire.” He opened his door and stepped outside with his hands raised in the air.

  Amy watched the deputies cautiously approach, only relaxing after being assured of Vickers’s identity.

  They spoke for long moments before her door was opened.

  An older man, obviously the one from the unmarked car, lowered to his haunches before her.

  Amy could tell that he feared Zaureth, but he kept his gaze trained on her. “Miss Brighton?”

  “Yes,” Amy whispered, not looking directly at him, as if she couldn’t see.

  My name’s Bill.” The man shifted his nervous gaze to Zaureth and then back to her. “Are you injured, ma’am?”

  Amy shook her head. “I just want to go home.”

  “I understand. An ambulance is on the way. I’d like to have you checked out just to be safe. I also need to ask you some questions if you’re up to it?”

  “Sure.” Amy moved to get out of the SUV, but Zaureth refused to let her go.

  He growled low, showing more than a little fang to poor Bill, who was still squatted down inside the door. “She goes nowhere without me.”

  The guy scrambled to his feet. “But—”

  “Nowhere!” Zaureth snarled.

  Amy almost felt sorry for the man. Almost.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Zaureth adjusted Amy in his arms and stepped carefully from the SUV near the entrance to Aukrabah.

  The carnage that had been there during the war with the Arkadians had mostly been cleaned up.

  He glanced back at Hauke and Abbie, who’d ridden home with him once the police had finished questioning Amy.

  Arcanum rested in Hauke’s arms, sleeping as only a child could.

  “Who is responsible for this?” Zaureth softly asked, waving his arm toward the area.

  Hauke studied their surroundings. “I suppose the human military.”

  “President Pratt had the bodies of the dead Arkadians burned,” Vickers interjected. “Your dead have been moved below to the catacombs.”

  Zaureth could only stare at the man. “Burned?”

  “He had no choice. If even one of those bodies had been taken from here, the implications of that would be staggering.”

  With a nod of understanding, Zaureth asked, “Will you suffer any consequences for what you did for us?”

  A shadow passed through Vickers’s eyes. “That depends on what you consider consequences. They won’t have me hanged or anything so drastic.”

  “But?” It was Amy who spoke that time.

  The corner of the man’s mouth lifted. “Who knows. Probably strip me of my future pension, fire me, shit like that.”

  Zaureth thought about his words. Though he had no idea what a pension was, or the word fired for that matter, he knew it couldn’t be a good thing. “Perhaps you would consider Aukrabah? We have lost some of our warriors and could use a good man on our team.”

  And he was a good man, Zaureth thought, watching the pride well up in Vickers’s eyes.

  “I appreciate the offer, Zaureth, but I have some shit to sort out.”

  Something dark had happened in Vickers’s past. Zaureth could sense it as surely as he could sense Amy’s exhaustion.

  He shifted her to a position he hoped would be more comfortable for her. “If you are certain?”

  “I—” Vickers began only to be cut off by Amy.

  “Please? It would make me feel better to have you with us a few more days.”

  Indecision flickered in his blue eyes. “All right. But just for a little while.”

  With that settled, Zaureth carried Amy toward the entrance of his home. He could smell death all around him.

  His Bracadyte vision took in a large cloud of smoke on the horizon. He assumed it was the military, burning the bodies of the dead Arkadians. They would surely burn them in the Gulf to keep them away fro
m prying eyes. Not to mention, there were close to a thousand warriors slain.

  Zaureth thought about how many human soldiers it would take to move that many bodies to the Gulf. It worried him that, among the land walkers employed by the government, so many of them could not be trusted.

  “Do not fret, my love,” Amy whispered through his mind. “Together, we can handle anything. Let’s just be grateful we survived not only the war but Kerik as well.”

  An enormous amount of love for her washed through him, coupled by his protective instincts. He would never again let anything happen to his Amy or their children. He would die first.

  He thought about what she’d survived at the hands of the land walker Kerik. Zaureth’s stomach clenched with nausea. She’d come close to being assaulted and nearly killed.

  Zaureth wanted to bring Kerik back and peel the flesh from his bones once more.

  Hauke, Abbie, and Vickers followed Zaureth into the mouth of Aukrabah, each lost in their own thoughts.

  Abbie appeared tired, Zaureth thought, meeting her gaze.

  Like Amy, Abbie had also suffered at the hands of humans.

  Zaureth’s attention shifted to Vickers. The man had betrayed his own people to help Amy, and Zaureth would never forget him for that. No matter how much time had passed, Vickers need only reach out, and Zaureth would be there.

  * * * *

  The bodies of the dead Bracadytes were buried in the catacombs the following morning.

  King Klause performed the death ritual, which included incense, some sweet-smelling oil, and a certain amount of blood from the fallen warriors’ mates.

  The elders who had gone on before were then summoned to carry the warriors’ souls into the hereafter.

  The weeping of the mates who’d been left behind tore at Zaureth’s heart. He knew their pain. He’d felt that same agony when he thought he’d lost his Amy.

  She reached up and took hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Please don’t think about that,” she whispered through his mind. “It breaks my heart to think of you hurting that way.”