by Karen Lynch
Celine squealed and started hopping around and trying to get kark dung from her hair. I had to turn away so she wouldn’t see me struggling not to laugh.
Sara didn’t try to hide her amusement, although her laugh was cut short when she got a whiff of the stuff. Her eyes watered, and she covered her nose and mouth.
I was grinning when my eyes met Tristan’s, and after a few seconds, his scowl turned into a smile. He shook his head and looked around the hall that was going to require several cleaning crews after the karks were rounded up.
“They must be getting tired,” one of the boys said. “Should we try to catch them now?”
I looked where he was pointing and saw Sara holding a sleeping kark while several dozen of the creatures rested on surfaces around her. Having seen what she could do to a werewolf and two hellhounds, I knew she had to be doing the same thing now.
Walking over to her, I said in a low voice, “Are you doing this?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure how long it will work on them. I hope Sahir gets here soon.”
“Someone needs to be reprimanded for this disaster,” Celine said when she and Tristan walked over to us.
I didn’t bother to tell her there was no one to blame for this one. She was too upset about the white dung clinging to her hair to listen to reason.
One of the boys ran up to us carrying mesh equipment bags. “Will these do?”
“Good idea!” Sara smiled at him and called out to the other trainees to help them.
They managed to get all the sleeping creatures in the bags, but that didn’t help with the hundreds of karks flying around the room. It got decidedly worse when the situation became too much for the newly hatched karks, and they began to defecate everywhere. Tristan threw up his arms, and he, Chris, and I stood together watching the spectacle.
When Sara and one of the other trainees collided with Celine, and the three of them went down in a tangle of arms and legs, it was all I could do not to laugh.
Sara sat up covered in stinking kark dung and muttered, “Ah hell,” and I had to stifle the bark of laughter that almost slipped out. I’d just spent the morning getting her to warm up to me, and I had no desire to start over.
I moved to help her up, but Chris beat me to it. So I went to assist Celine instead. She clung to my arm for a moment then let go when she looked down and saw the filth covering her.
“If anyone needs me, I’ll be soaking in my tub for the next two hours,” Celine announced, giving me a look that said I was welcome to join her.
This was a new situation for me; propositioned by a former lover while my mate, who didn’t know she was my mate, stood several feet away. I looked at Tristan and Chris, who were laughing openly, and Chris mouthed, Good luck with that. It was all so absurd that I could only shake my head and laugh.
Sahir chose that moment to arrive with the sedative. “Sorry it took so long. I had to dilute the sedative and transfer it to a spray canister so it will reach them.”
To illustrate, he lifted the nozzle and lightly sprayed two karks. It took about a minute for the sedative to kick in and bring the karks down.
Sara picked one up and smiled at Sahir. “It worked!”
Sahir turned to Tristan. “I diluted this, but it still might knock people out if they breathe too much of it. We should clear the hall before I spray more of it.”
Tristan ordered everyone from the hall. He looked at me as we walked to the nearest common room. “Do you want to join me this afternoon on a call with the task force? After we both clean up, of course.”
“Can we do it around five? Sara and I are working on her studies after lunch.”
He gave me a puzzled look. “Her studies?”
“Yes, it seems we overlooked that part of her training. She didn’t even know how vampires matured until I told her.”
Tristan looked abashed. “She is the same age as the other trainees who have all had schooling. I didn’t stop to think that Sara –”
A cry of pain came from the hall.
Sara.
Chapter 18
I raced back to the hall in time to see a mass of white bodies swarming around someone who was trying to run away from them. She cried out, and my stomach lurched when I realized the creatures were attacking her.
I dove through the karks and wrapped my body around Sara to protect her from the impact as we hit the marble floor. We landed with her on top of me, and I swiftly rolled us over so she was on the bottom. A second later, we were covered in crazed karks, and I expected to feel their sharp little teeth in my back. But they completely ignored me and seemed obsessed with getting to Sara.
Sahir ran toward us. “If I spray them, I might get you too.”
“I don’t give a damn. Just do it,” I ordered.
He lifted the nozzle, and I lowered my head to Sara’s. “Cover your mouth and nose. Sahir is going to spray around us.”
She buried her face in my sweater, and I pulled her to me as tightly as I could.
“There are too many of them,” Sahir called.
“Keep spraying us.”
I’d pick Sara up and make a run for it, but there were too many of the creatures, and they were in a frenzy to get to Sara.
“I can’t. It’ll poison you two if I spray more around you,” he argued. “I’ll do what I can to reduce their numbers. What the hell is wrong with them? Why are they only going after her?”
“I don’t know.”
Karks didn’t attack people without provocation. There was only one thing that made them behave this way. I lowered my head and enhanced my demon senses to smell Sara’s hair. It stunk of kark but nothing suspicious. Next I sniffed at her hoodie and picked up a faint, foreign odor mingled with the kark feces. “Something smells off here.”
Sara made a noise. “You think?”
I had to get the hoodie off her. If it had even a drop of scarab pheromone on it, the flock wouldn’t stop until they devoured it and anything touching it. I grabbed the bottom and began pulling it up.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked.
I continued pulling the hoodie up her torso. “I think something on your clothes is making the karks behave like this. I can detect something that doesn’t smell like you or their droppings.”
If she’d had scarab pheromone on her when we entered the hall, the karks would have attacked her then. That meant she would have had to come into contact with it since we got here, and the only way for that to happen would be for someone to spray her with it. The idea that anyone at Westhorne would want to harm her seemed preposterous, but I was taking no chances.
She stopped struggling, and I yanked the piece of clothing off her and threw it across the room. Dozens of karks attacked the hoodie.
“Jesus, look at that,” Sahir shouted.
Chills ran through me as I watched the tiny karks tearing into the fabric. That could have been Sara if I hadn’t reached her in time.
Sahir pointed at us. “They’re still trying to get to her. Whatever it is, it has to be on her T-shirt, too.”
“I know.” I took a breath and lifted my head to look down at Sara, who was shivering beneath me. I hated to do this, knowing how modest she was, but there was no other way.
“Sara –”
Panic flared in her eyes. “No way! Forget it! We can make a run for it.”
“There are too many of them. As soon as I get off you, they’ll attack you.”
Her head moved from side to side. “I don’t care. I am not taking off my clothes.”
I sighed heavily. So much for her warming up to me; I’d be lucky if she looked at me for a week after this.
“I’m sorry but this is no time for modesty. It’s just your shirt, and I’ll cover you.”
She bit her lip and looked away from me, reaching for her shirt. I wanted to say something to ease her discomfort, but I knew she wouldn’t want to hear it.
“Stand back, boys. Time for the girls to show you how it’s done,” a girl ye
lled. “Let her rip, Liv.”
A hard spray of icy water hit my back and moved over us, making Sara sputter and press her face into my chest. It took me a second to realize someone had turned the fire hose on us.
There was no holding back the laughter this time. Christ, life with Sara would never be dull.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Sara muttered, pushing at me.
I grinned at her. “Immensely.”
Reluctantly, I moved off her and stood. I reached down and lifted her to her feet.
The hall was a disaster. Every surface was covered in karks or kark dung, and there was half an inch of water on the floor.
I looked at the blonde girl holding the fire hose. Jordan smirked and turned the powerful spray on us again before attacking the few karks left in the air.
“Hey!” Sara yelled.
Jordan’s grin was anything but apologetic. “Sorry, had to make sure I didn’t miss any of it. Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”
“I think that’s enough, Jordan,” Tristan said as he and the other warriors returned to the hall and looked around at the mess.
He looked at Sara and me. “Are you two okay?”
We nodded, and he turned to Sahir. “Sahir, what could have caused this?”
I went to the hoodie and yanked it out from under a pile of unconscious karks. “Something on her clothes attracted them. Look at this.”
“Have that garment examined. I want to know exactly what happened here,” Tristan ordered angrily.
I had a pretty damn good idea what had happened, but I didn’t want to voice my suspicions until I knew for sure.
Tristan called for someone to gather up the karks and start cleaning up. He came over to us, his eyes full of concern for Sara.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked her.
She rubbed her arms. “I’m fine.”
Jordan walked up to us, grinning mischievously. “Sara, you look like you just won a wet T-shirt contest.”
“What?” Sara said in a choked voice.
I looked sideways at her to see her tugging on the wet fabric of her yellow T-shirt that was molded to her breasts and tight stomach like a second skin. My breath caught and heat flared in my belly. I had never wanted to touch a woman as much as I did in that moment.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and I looked up to see half the males in the room staring at Sara.
A fierce surge of possessiveness filled me. My Mori growled, and I almost echoed it, as I stepped in front of Sara to shield her from the others’ eyes.
The other warriors wisely averted their gaze when I glared at them. The only one who didn’t turn away was Jordan, who appeared to be having the time of her life.
Sara moved to stand beside me again. Her T-shirt no longer clung to her, and she had her arms folded across her chest.
I started to ask her if she was okay, but Tristan spoke first.
“Nikolas, we need to talk when you have a minute.”
I didn’t need to ask what he wanted to discuss. I hadn’t exactly been subtle when I’d stared everyone down. But I wasn’t going to apologize for protecting Sara’s modesty.
“If you don’t need me, I’d like to get cleaned up,” Sara said wearily.
“Take the rest of the day off,” Tristan told her. “Do you need to see a healer?”
“No, I just need a long shower.”
He smiled warmly at her. “Go on then. You too, Jordan and Olivia. I think you’ve earned an afternoon off.”
Sara mumbled a “thank you” to me then practically ran up the stairs to the north wing. I waited until she was out of sight before I faced Tristan.
“You wanted to talk?”
He nodded then grimaced. “Why don’t we both get cleaned up and meet at my place in thirty minutes?”
“Make that an hour.” I held up Sara’s destroyed hoodie. “I want to get this to the lab so they can start running tests.”
“Good idea. I’ll walk with you.”
He cut to the chase as soon as we were out of earshot of the hall. “You need to rein in your emotions.”
“I’m in control.”
“You were territorial back there, and everyone saw it. If they don’t know about the bond after that, they will soon if you keep it up. Do you want her to hear about it from someone else?”
God, no. That was the last thing I wanted.
“Did I upset her?”
“I think she was embarrassed, but not by you. I’m more concerned about what others might say to her.”
I exhaled slowly. “You’re right. I’ll keep it under control from now on. Are you coming to the lab with me?”
“No. I just wanted a few minutes to talk. Let me know what they find.”
I gripped the hoodie tightly. “I’m pretty sure I know what they’ll find. Karks only behave like that for one reason.”
His eyes flicked to the hoodie. “Scarab pheromone?”
“I smelled something, but it was impossible to identify with the kark stench. I’m handling the investigation myself, and I’ll know something by tonight.”
He nodded approvingly. “Good. I’ll talk to you later then. I’m having a family dinner with Sara and Chris this evening. We think she’s ready to know he’s her cousin. You’re welcome to join us.”
As much as I loved spending time with Sara, I wanted her to form strong bonds with her Mohiri family. And I knew how much it meant to Tristan as well. It was best to give her this time alone with them.
“Thanks. You three do the family thing, and I’ll come by around eight.”
He smiled. “I’ll see you then.”
Tristan left, and I entered the medical ward. Our lab wasn’t state of the art like those at some other strongholds, but they would be able to tell if there was scarab pheromone or some other chemical on the hoodie. If the karks hadn’t devoured it all.
Margot was on duty again, and she started running tests immediately on the tattered hoodie. I told her to test for the pheromone first, and she said it would take at least two hours. She promised she would call me as soon as the results were in.
I hurried to my apartment to shower and change, and then I went in search of Dax. I found the security guy at his favorite spot, in front of a bank of computer monitors in the security center.
“Two visits in as many days. People are gonna start talking soon,” he quipped when I grabbed a chair and rolled it over to sit by him. He grinned. “You know, I don’t think we ever worked together as much as we have in the last few months.”
I chuckled. “That’s because a certain orphan has a special talent for finding trouble.”
“True that.” He tapped a few keys on his keyboard. “Let me guess, you want to see security footage from the kark thing.”
“Yes.”
Most of our security cameras were outside, but we had two in the main hall. Dax brought up the feeds and went back to the moment Sara and I entered the hall. I watched me hand her the knife and smile when she turned away.
Seconds later, the boy ran into the hall, followed by the flock of karks and everyone else. Soon it was difficult to hear people above the flapping and squeaking, and the scene below was partially obscured by the tiny winged creatures.
I kept my eyes on Sara and anyone she came close to before the karks attacked her. Aside from Tristan, Chris, and me, she came into contact with Celine and one of the boys when the three of them had fallen to the floor. I had Dax replay that piece several times, but I could see nothing suspicious, not that I expected to. Celine might have a reputation for disliking other women, but she would never harm another Mohiri. The boy was clumsy and awkward, and seemed eager to help.
Dax snickered as we watched for the fifth time as Sara backed into Celine and they tumbled to the floor. “That girl is after my own heart.”
I laughed. “She’s something else, all right.”
My smile vanished when we reached the part where the karks began attacking Sara, a f
ew at first and then dozens of them. She cried out and stumbled, trying to escape them. And then I ran into the hall and covered her with my body. Watching the karks try to burrow under me to get to Sara made my blood run cold. If I hadn’t gotten to her in time –
“You want to keep going?”
“I’ve seen enough.”
Dax stopped the playback. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“No. I thought I’d figure out why the karks attacked Sara and no one else, but I can’t see anything here that explains it.”
I rubbed my jaw and thought about where Sara could have picked up the pheromone, if indeed that was what I’d smelled on her hoodie. Could it have been on her clothes before we entered the building?
Once again, I dismissed that idea. If Sara had walked into the hall with scarab pheromone on her clothes, the flock would have attacked her as soon as they caught the scent. So how the hell had she come into contact with it?
Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the monitor that now showed the ongoing cleanup in the main hall. Was it possible that I was making something out of nothing? Where was the motive? Why would another Mohiri want to hurt Sara? I was so used to protecting her. Maybe I was seeing a threat where none existed.
I pushed my chair back and stood. A glance at the time on the monitor told me I had at least an hour before the lab’s pheromone test would be done. The results would tell me if I was overreacting or not. I hoped I was.
* * *
It was just after eight that night when I arrived at Tristan’s door to talk to him about the kark incident and the results of the lab tests. I felt Sara’s presence inside, and I was a little worried about seeing her after my behavior in the hall. I was trying to take my time with her, and I didn’t want her upset by this.
I rapped on the door. A moment later, it was opened by Tristan.
“Nikolas, come in. We just finished dinner.”
My eyes went to Sara as soon as I entered the apartment, and my stomach did a strange flip when I saw her. Instead of her usual attire, she wore a lacy pink top that complimented her sun-kissed skin. Her hair flowed in soft waves around her shoulders, and her face was flushed from laughter. Her green eyes met mine demurely before she glanced away.