Jake allowed his hands to grow slack about the human's throat, shaking his head. But then his grip grew tight again as he said, "And what about my baby girl? What did she ever do to you? She was perfect, and you snuffed out her life before she even got to begin it."
With a roar from deep within his Antousian throat, Jakob closed in … and finished a killing that had begun on a battlefield five years earlier.
While the two men battled it out on the floor of the cabin, Kryn hurriedly explained to Shelby that she worked for Thea as her spy.
"You're helping us?" Shelby asked in wide-eyed surprise, sliding into her wraparound dress.
Kryn hesitated briefly, then bent her mouth to Shelby's ear. "Yes. Now, hurry. I can get you out of here." She cocked her luminator and tossed a familiar dagger onto the bed beside Shelby. "You'll want this back, I think."
Shelby took it in her hand, searching for her boots. Their stiletto heels would make another good weapon. With a glance toward Jakob, she saw that he'd accomplished his goal: Tierny lay slumped and lifeless on the floor. She barely had time to register that fact before several armed guards practically knocked the door off its hinges.
Wielding her dagger as first one, then a second, and a third Antousian soldier tried to attack her, Shelby barely had time to think. All her years of fury at Nate came roaring to the surface as she stabbed and kicked and flailed. Around her she heard grunting and panting, but there was another noise closer at hand: her own screaming.
Vengeance. She wanted her own taste of it—for all her friends who'd died, for what her enemies had done to her king, for all of it. Bodies fell about them, and she wouldn't be stopped. With a flick of her dagger, she went after the largest of her attackers, an Antousian in his natural form who was even taller than Jake. At least the other two were in their humanized forms, she thought, watching Kryn battle them single-handedly from the corner of her eye. Still, she was at least a foot and a half smaller than her attacker, and no matter how deftly she might wield her dagger, it would be no match for the looming figure coming at her.
With a flick of the alien's hand, she was on the floor, flattened. Her dagger had been kicked out of reach, too, leaving her gasping and vulnerable. She glanced toward Kryn, who had somehow—mercifully—gotten the upper hand with her two assailants, one of whom was now coldcocked and on the floor. Kryn never looked back at her, manning her K-12 expertly and focusing only on their attackers. Grabbing one of her boots, Shelby rose to her feet once more, unsteady but eager to face down her opponent. The man was massive, monumental, and he gave a brutal roar as he rushed her. Extending the stiletto heel of her boot, she catapulted against his beefy chest, closing her eyes and praying for the best.
Her attacker released an eerie exhalation, almost like a sigh, and sank to his knees. He cupped both hands over his eyes, muttering in Antousian until—after what seemed an eternity—he doubled over with a gurgling sigh.
When she was sure no one else would attack, Shelby dropped to the floor, gasping, sobbing. With a quick glance, she watched as Kryn finished off her own skirmish, holstering her weapon triumphantly. Good, she thought, at least that's one battle we've won. But she had no strength left inside of her, and curled against the floor.
After several moments, a large pair of hands drew up underneath Shelby's arms. "Shell, sweetheart, come on. It's done. Come on, we've got to roll."
She gave her head a stunned little shake. Jake got more urgent. "We're out of time, baby. Now or never, let's go!"
"I know where they're holding Jared," Kryn told them breathlessly, leading the way out of the door, but not before they'd armed themselves with the luminators the Antousians had dropped. Shelby kept her dagger in her hand, ignoring the blood that dripped from its sharp edge, and hoisted one of the luminators across her chest.
"Follow me," Kryn ordered. "Stay tight with me, and maybe we'll all make it out of here alive."
Shelby grabbed her hand. "Not yet. I can find out how we need to get out of here … but I need about five minutes."
Jake shook his head. "No way, Shelby. I'm not letting you try it."
"What do you have in mind?" Kryn asked, eyeing the door.
"I can time walk. It will tell us what we need to know."
Jake's large eyes slid shut. "It's too fucking dangerous for you—besides, there's not enough time."
"Time is all we have right now, Jakob," she told him softly. "Now, let me do my job."
Convulsing in Jake's arms, Shelby returned to consciousness, her mind riddled with images from her time walk. She'd followed the short thread, walking its length, seeing five, ten … maybe twenty minutes of what was to come in the immediate future. With a gasp, she lifted out of her fugue, and Jake clutched her tight within his arms.
She turned to face Kryn, who was crouched beside her on the floor, and addressed her. "I saw an aircraft. Antousian, midsized fighter." She sucked at the air, still shaking all over. "You're going to pilot us out of here, but there's a problem we have to avoid along the way."
Jake stroked her hair, trying to soothe her tremors. "Tell us what to do."
"Whatever they have Jared in, it's a containment system. …" She stared up into Jake's eyes. "I saw you failing to free him. Kryn gets the craft, but we don't get Jared. Not unless we can spring him from the glass prison he's in."
Kryn glanced back and forth between the door and Shelby. "I don't have the codes for dismantling the containment grid."
Shelby nodded, trying to breathe, aware that her body seemed to be fracturing crazily because of the visions in her mind. "But I saw another way," she finally managed to get out, still gasping. "Jake, it's you. You're the only one who can get him out. There was a second time thread, an alternate one. Kryn, you go after that craft, Jake and I free Jared."
"Tell me what to do," he said.
They moved slowly through the basement of the warehouse, back down the same dank hallways where they'd been captured the night before. The memories were hideous to Shelby as she passed the torture room where Jake had pinned her to the table, but lifting her luminator shoulder high, she crept ahead, taking the lead for Jakob.
Lifting a finger, she pointed toward the end of the hallway, and at last they reached the door. There was a keypad that required a security code, and Shelby closed her eyes, trying to configure the numbers from her vision. Taking a deep breath and hoping she was remembering correctly, she input the data. A moment later, the door sprang open.
Jake entered ahead of her, sweeping the room with his weapon and his gaze, and waved her in. Dead ahead, suspended in the middle of the room, was the tall glass cell that she'd seen in her vision and, swirling in the center, his energy a dull yellow-gold, was the natural form of their leader and king. Long and narrow, the cell allowed only a few scant inches of width, not enough room to ever allow the man to change back into his physical body.
Jake turned to Shelby, black eyes swimming with painful emotion. "Now go to him," she explained in a whisper, "and soul-gaze him."
"I don't understand."
"His mental state will be devastating to you, but that's not the important thing. Be strong, battle past it … and use your gazing ability to rupture the glass shields."
Jake shrank back. "I don't possess that kind of power, Shell."
She reached high, taking hold of both his shoulders. "Today you do. Now go! We don't have much time."
Jake took several loping steps forward, his hulking Antousian frame glowing from the power captured within the cell. Hesitating, he reached out a hand and touched the surface of Jared's prison. Although Shelby couldn't see his face, the glass before him began to glow even brighter, a slight moaning sound coming from Jake's direction.
She'd foreseen this: his immense grief at Jared's pain.
"Press on," she encouraged, but she stayed back against the wall—not because she didn't want to support him, but because of what was about to happen. "You are the one, Jakob, but protect yourself. That glass is going to sh
atter with a huge amount of force."
Jake gave a nod, and then as if in reaction, the room all about them grew brighter and seemed to explode from the inside out. Shelby was thrown face-first to the floor, a massive roaring sound filling the entire area as thousands of glass shards flew in every direction. Then, as if they'd freed a bolt of supernatural lightning, Jared flung past them, down the hall, a loud, erratic noise following in his wake.
"He's out to destroy all of our enemies!" she shouted over the maelstrom.
Jake struggled to his feet. "But that's just putting him at risk of being captured all over again. I have to go after him."
Shelby rode out the heat wave, staying glued to the floor. "You're not going to stop him—not this time, Jake. He's simply not rational right now. He's spent too many hours in his natural form."
"Will he be all right?" Jake shouted over the wind and noise.
"I didn't see that far! But we've got to get going toward the craft."
"No!" Jake shouted, struggling to move into the hallway even though a gale-force wind battered the length of it. "I have to get Jared out of here safely. You go ahead. We'll meet you there!"
Shelby didn't like the plan, but it was clear she'd never convince Jake to do otherwise, so she started running.
Shelby tore across the open field, the early morning sun sparkling over the dewy grass. Barefoot, she ignored the slicing pain of rocks and other debris that cut into the soles of her feet, and made for the craft as Kryn lowered it unsteadily into the middle of the vast, open space. Behind her, she sensed soldiers, was aware that she was being pursued. But driven forward by the images from her time walk, she didn't dare slow down.
When she was only ten feet from the aircraft, a gangway lowered before the transport had solidly touched ground. She didn't look back, tried not to think about her king or about Jakob, and launched herself at the steps, catching hold with her forearms and dangling slightly above the earth below.
Suddenly, the aircraft opened fire, spattering the landscape with a hail of luminous shrapnel—nearly tossing Shelby back to the ground in the process. The wind kicked up all around her, blinding her and throwing her loose hair up into her eyes; still, she held to the plank, refusing to let go.
When the shooting stopped, she crawled up into the transport's belly, and only then did she glance back over her shoulder—just in time to witness the entire warehouse exploding into a giant fireball that threw her against the exposed floor of the cabin. The aircraft jolted, spun first in one direction, then another, by shockwaves from the blast, and for a moment she was certain that Kryn was going to lift off without waiting for Jared and Jake.
Wailing, Shelby watched as explosion after explosion rocked the warehouse. "Jakob!" she shrieked, hitching her arm through the accordion-like extension of the gangplank and holding tight for her life. "Oh, gods above, Jakob! My lord, my king!" She wailed and sobbed, inching backward until she sprawled on the floor of the transport.
Still Kryn kept the transport hovering low, as if she expected survivors, but Shelby knew differently. She'd already lived this moment once before, years ago, and the grief that overcame her was instantaneous. Huddling on her knees, pressing her face against the grooved floor, she folded herself into a ball. Into nothing. Because after today, there would be nothing left of her soul.
Then … after many long moments, a familiar vibrato sound startled her. "Go! Go! Go!" she heard Jake shout in his husky Antousian voice, and she felt his thunderous footsteps as he bounded onto the craft. Lifting her tear-stained face, she watched in shock as he lurched past her.
"Get down!" Jake urged. "Jared's behind me, and he'll scorch you alive." He launched himself atop her, burying her against the floor, and she felt a firestorm blaze past her. Still unable to believe what was happening, she glanced up just in time to see the glowing body of her commander hurl beyond her, toward the back of the craft. He'd made himself small and compact, even though he radiated enough energy to power a small nuclear arsenal.
She didn't even have time to react before the aircraft rapidly ascended, the gangway only halfway closed as they assumed full throttle.
Jake sank hard against the padded bench seat, not even bothering with buckling up. Shelby sat across the aisle from him, avoiding his gaze. He lifted his forearm to his nose; he hated the smoky smell that permeated his nostrils and had no doubt that the warehouse explosion had unlocked an unending litany of vicious memories for Shelby. He tried to catch her eye, shifted his legs uncomfortably, and finally quietly called out her name.
She trained her gaze on her bare feet. "I'm okay," was all she said.
"Come sit beside me," he prodded gently, patting the empty seat. "I want to talk to you."
She gave her head a slight shake, not looking up, and he shifted his long legs out into the aisle, bumping his left calf against hers. "Hey, you, get over here. Stat."
At last she lifted her gaze, and he saw such terror in the blue depths of her eyes, it nearly killed him. He didn't wait for her but rose to his feet and lurched unsteadily across the aisle. The craft definitely wasn't flying smooth and even, but he had to hand it to Kryn: For an inexperienced pilot the woman was doing all right. They all owed her their lives, and it was a debt he figured they'd be paying for a long time to come.
He collapsed beside her, exhausted. "Look at me, baby," he said, turning to face Shelby. After a long moment she finally tilted her face upward. "Are you all right?"
She wiped at her eyes, said nothing, and then finally whispered, "I thought you died. For a few minutes back there, I was sure you were gone."
He firmly grasped her by both shoulders. "I'm right here. We're out of that shit storm. We're all right. We've got Jared. Everything's going to be okay."
She gave a little nod. "Guess I just need to process that fact. That's all."
A curious burning began at the base of Jake's spine, but he tried to ignore it, shoving the sensation to the periphery of his consciousness. "You need rest. And to be held for a long, long time, Shell. Everything will feel normal again once we're home."
Again she nodded—but said nothing.
The achy burn along Jake's spine lifted higher, spreading upward into his shoulder blades and into the base of his ridged scalp. Oh, shit. Not now. Any time but right now, he thought, shifting uncomfortably. With a fast glance, he wondered if he could make it to the back of the craft where they were holding Jared. Staggering unsteadily to his feet, he started to move in that direction—anything so Shelby wouldn't see what had to be coming next—but it was too late.
"What's wrong?" she asked him in alarm, right as his entire body began to quake and tremor.
Not now, not now. Not like this.
"I—I … the serum is wearing off.… I'm gonna … gods, Shelby!" He threw his head back and roared his anguish, dropping heavily to his large Antousian knees. And right then, his body began to splinter, to tear apart at its very axis, as if his backbone were shrinking and realigning. As if his skin was suddenly too big and his head too small.
As if he was going to die.
Shelby watched in horror as Jake collapsed face-first to the craft's floor, writhing and shifting in agony. His bones and flesh shrank, stretched a little, then shrank some more. His thick skin grew softer, moving over flesh and bone. He screamed in a voice that she'd hoped to never hear come out of his throat, and after a moment's hesitation, she fell atop him, holding him.
"It'll be over soon," she cried over his tormented groans and shouts. "Hang on, Jakob. Just ride it out. Ride it out."
She buried her face against his rough shoulders, feeling the way his bulky body transformed and altered, knowing to the depths of her soul how he suffered.
It didn't seem fair that they'd done this to him, the way they'd forced him to shift, and now that he had to go through such agony to transform again.
Then a thought popped into her mind: What if he didn't live through it? She gripped him tighter, praying that he'd survive. At las
t, after an endless whirlwind of torment, his body fell, exhausted and still against the grooved floor of the craft, and she collapsed atop him.
"You got through it," she murmured against his much more familiar shoulders, relishing the smoothness of the humanized skin. "You're okay. You're almost home."
He mumbled something, groaning, clutching at the floor. "Shell, Shell."
"I've got you, big boy." She pressed her cheek against his sweaty shoulder. "I'm holding on tight."
"Don't leave me, please," he murmured, and she knew that he was talking about far more than this moment. He understood how spooked she was, what a toll all of this had taken.
"I'm here right now," she whispered in his ear. It was all she could promise; this moment, this time. "I'm holding you close, Scott," she whispered without thinking.
He groaned in reaction. "Don't call me that."
She stroked his brow. "You're still going to try and tell me that you're really Jake Tierny? Puhlease." She laughed softly, pressing a kiss against his cheek.
"Just don't leave." He sighed uneasily.
From the front of the craft, Kryn called out to them. "The base is rejecting my codes. They're interpreting our approach as a hostile one."
"I gave you the proper approach sequence," Shelby argued, panicked.
Jake leaned up on his knees. "But we're in an Antousian craft. They're going to shoot us down if we're not careful," he cautioned, standing unsteadily. "Put me on the comm."
Kryn was silent for a long moment, and Shelby could see her punching at the controls. "They won't accept the hail," she said after a moment, her voice unsteady. "We're flying in there blind."
Jake reached for Shelby's hand, dragging her to her feet "You'd better buckle up tight," he said. "And prepare for a rough landing. This may get really ugly before we're in there."
"What about Jared?" she asked, glancing toward the rear of the craft. "We have to let them know he's onboard. They can't shoot down the king of Refaria!"
Parallel Desire Page 24