Brides of the Kindred Volume One

by Evangeline Anderson

  “No more than one of your Earth standard days,” he promised, nodding. “Two at the very most.”

  That had been three days ago…

  Lauren frowned moodily and looked out the front viewscreen at the busy alien marketplace. Though she didn’t want to admit it to herself, it wasn’t boredom that was really bothering her.

  It was fear.

  What if something happened to him? What if he’s dead or hurt somewhere with no one to help him? What if he never comes back?

  She tried to push the troubling questions to the back of her mind, but she could no longer manage it. Xairn was gone and she was all alone on an alien planet a hundred lightyears from home.

  What was she going to do?

  There was plenty of food, at least. The Kindred ship was stocked with tiny food cubes which expanded into a full sized meal when they were put in the rehydrator. Xairn had showed her how to work the microwave-like machine before he left and Lauren estimated there were hundreds of the sugar-cube sized meals stored neatly in a cabinet at the back of the ship.

  True, some of them were pretty strange—she’d rehydrated one which contained what looked like a writhing nest of worms. Lauren had thrown it away—she didn’t like to waste food but there was no way she was eating anything alive. Just thinking of it made her feel queasy. But the other meals seemed edible enough and the portions were so large she could often eat an entire day off a single cube—probably because they were intended for huge Kindred warriors and not Earth females.

  “So at least I won’t starve to death,” she muttered, staring out the viewscreen some more. She wished Xairn had parked a little closer to the entrance of the alley. The light in O’ah was a dim, dusky violet which never got much brighter than twilight on Earth. She could make out shapes in the weak, purplish light but it was hard to tell for sure what the alien inhabitants of the city looked like. Lauren wondered if they were humanoid at all or something completely different—huge insects maybe. Or amphibians or reptile-like creatures with claws or beaks or—

  “Stop it Lauren,” she told herself firmly. “You’re just giving yourself the heebie-jeebies. So just stop right n—”

  Before she could finish the sentence something hopped right in front of the viewscreen. Lauren let out a startled squeak and nearly fell backwards off the black leather seat she was sitting on. “What the—?”

  There it was again. The thing hopped up, obviously tying to get her attention on purpose. With one more hop, it finally managed to scramble onto the nose section of the silver Kindred ship. Then it stood up and waved its hands in the air…only they were more like…

  “Paws,” Lauren murmured to herself. She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating like a drum because she’d been certain at first that she was being attacked. But now she wasn’t so sure.

  The alien hopping and waving in front of the viewscreen didn’t look the least bit menacing. In fact what he looked like was a very large…

  “Bunny rabbit.” Lauren finished the thought aloud. “Oh my God, he’s the spitting image of Mr. Kittles!”

  Mr. Kittles had been the brown and white lop eared bunny her mom had bought her for her twelfth birthday. He’d been Lauren’s favorite pet and had slept in her bed every night. Extremely intelligent for a bunny, Mr. Kittles had learned to use a litter box just like a cat and had begged for carrots on his hind legs like a dog. Lauren had been heartbroken when he’d gotten out of the house and been run over by a careless driver in a huge SUV when she was seventeen. And now, here he was again—almost ten years later and a hundred thousand light years away…how was it possible?

  “Well, he’s not exactly like Mr. Kittles,” Lauren murmured doubtfully. Which was true. For one thing, Mr. Kittles had never worn clothes and this bunny—or the alien who looked like a bunny—was. His short, furry frame was draped in a shimmering purple cape and he wore soft brown boots on his hind feet. He was still waving frantically as though he wanted her to let him inside.

  Lauren was tempted to do just that from sheer boredom but she remembered Xairn’s warning and decided against it. “Sorry, little fellah,” she said, watching the caped and booted bunny hop around like crazy. “No can do. No matter how cute you look, you might be bad news and I can’t take the risk.”

  No sooner had the words left her mouth than an earsplitting roar shook the ship. Lauren had the speakers on the viewscreen turned down but even so, she covered her ears and winced. What the hell was that?

  The answer wasn’t long in coming. Suddenly the narrow entrance to the alley was filled with an enormous red reptilian face. It had fierce white eyes outlined in black and a square snout, reminding Lauren of the stylized paper dragons that appeared around the Chinese New Year.

  The bunny rabbit’s huge brown eyes suddenly widened with fear and it hopped up and down even more frantically. Its whiskers trembled and it seemed to be mouthing a plea at the viewscreen.

  The dragon-like creature saw it and roared again, its jaws gaping open to reveal rows and rows of jagged pale blue teeth. It was a tight squeeze but it began pushing its massive head into the alley. A forked tongue licked out of its mouth and slithered over the rabbit’s right boot before cinching tight. With a jerk of its head, the dragon lifted the terrified rabbit into the air and for a moment it seemed certain that it was going to eat the helpless little creature right before Lauren’s horrified eyes.

  Then, at the last minute, the boot came off and the rabbit fell back onto the Kindred ship with a hollow thump. The scrap of brown leather disappeared into the dragon’s gaping maw and it roared angrily when it found its prey had eluded it. The tongue snaked out again…

  But by this time Lauren had already slapped a palm over the door release mechanism and was beckoning for the frightened rabbit-thing to come in. “Hurry!” she urged, waving at it. “Come on—get in here quick!”

  She had no idea if the rabbit could understand her or not but it seemed to comprehend her gestures. Barely eluding the seeking tongue again, it slid across the slick silver surface of the Kindred ship and right into her arms.

  Lauren pulled it tight to her chest and slammed the door just as the forked black tongue was curling toward her. The very tip of one fork caught in the ship’s door and was amputated in a gout of slimy black blood as the silver panel shut. It fell to the floor with a wet smack and lay twitching at Lauren’s feet like a snake that’s been cut in half but doesn’t have the sense to die.

  “Ugh!” Lauren took a step back, still clutching the bunny creature to her chest. From the pained roaring outside the ship, the dragon was even more upset than she was. She wondered uneasily if it could force its way into the alley and get her. Would the Kindred ship protect her from something with the size and strength of an angry T-rex?

  “Don’t worry.” The piping little voice from between her breasts startled her and when Lauren looked down, she realized she was still hugging the bunny tight—like a little girl clutching a stuffed animal.

  “Wh…what?” she managed to stutter. “Who…how…who are you and how can you speak English?”

  The rabbit shook itself free of her and hopped down. Then is shimmered and suddenly began to glow and grow.

  Lauren watched in horrified amazement as it doubled and then trebled in height and mass until it was a pillar of brilliant light higher than her head. She blinked, trying to get used to the bright glow but almost at once the light solidified into the shape of a blond man wearing a purple cape, black pants and brown boots.

  He was tall—almost as tall as Xairn though not quite so broad in the shoulders. Still, he was large and muscular enough to be a threat and Lauren took a step back when he raised his head. His eyes were a pale, silvery-purple and they gleamed strangely when smiled at her.

  “Hello, Lauren,” he said. “Welcome to O’ah.”

  * * * * *

  Deep in the bowls of the splicing district, Xairn raised his bloody head.

  He’d spent more time than he liked looki
ng for Vrr only to find that the DNA specialist had retired and given the business over to his son, Slk. The Alteration house he ran still appeared reputable, however, though the price for what Xairn needed done was considerably more than Vrr would have charged him.

  Indeed, he wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to pay the fee that Slk demanded. But somehow he had to if he and Lauren were ever going to be free of the AllFather’s influence and get beyond his reach. And at least he’d gained permission to access their secure parking area. To bring a ship to the splicing district without secure accommodations was asking to have it stripped in a matter of minutes.

  He’d been making his way back through the narrow warren of arching plasti-glass tunnels built high above the skyline of O’ah when a pack of splicers had jumped him.

  He hadn’t been expecting the attack because it didn’t make sense. Everyone knew that Scourge DNA was flawed—their stubborn intractability and volatility made them useless as slaves except to other Scourge and their pearlescent grey skin and red-on-black eyes weren’t considered beautiful enough to replicate for cloning. So why would splicers attack him? Putting the question aside, Xairn had fought them off one by one, despite the fact that his weapon was out of charge. But the splicers were very determined and it was a long, messy business—mostly knife work which left him covered in gore.

  Five splicers lay dead at his feet, their red-black blood splattering the smudged plasti-glass tunnel before he was done. Only one remained alive and in the state he was in, he wouldn’t last for long.

  Xairn knelt on the male’s narrow chest and stared into the pale purple eyes. “Why did you attack me?” he demanded hoarsely, gripping the neck of the splicer’s cloak and twisting. “Is Scourge DNA suddenly in vogue on this benighted planet? I thought we had too many flaws to be of much use to a splicer.”

  “Don’t…don’t want your DNA,” the male choked, a thin trickle of reddish-black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. “Scourge DNA is shit.”

  “Why then?” Xairn twisted harder until the male’s face turned as purple as his cloak. “Tell me now and I’ll give you a painless death.”

  “T-too late for that.” The male broke into a cracked laugh that turned into a sob. “Gods…think my spine is broken. Can’t feel anything…below my waist.”

  “Lucky for you,” Xairn said coldly. “You can’t feel pain in the lower half of your body. But if you don’t want the top half of your miserable carcass to be in absolute fucking agony, you’ll tell me what you know, now.”

  “Spider sent us.” The splicer coughed weakly, spewing black droplets from his thin lips. “He wanted us to kill you so he could have your ship.”

  “My ship?” Xairn frowned. “What the hell does he want with a Kindred Outrider? The damn thing is fifty cycles old if it’s a day—surely he could see that.”

  “He doesn’t…doesn’t want the ship itself.” The light in the pale purple eyes was dying and the splicer’s voice was growing faint. “He wants…what’s inside it.” He coughed again. “Treasure…”

  “Treasure? I don’t have any fucking…” Xairn’s voice trailed off and his eyes widened. “Gods, Lauren!”

  He shook the splicer hard. “What was he going to do to her? Where was he taking her?”

  But the light in the splicer’s pale purple eyes had gone out—he was talking to a corpse.

  Dropping the lifeless body, Xairn leapt to his feet and took off down the warren of smudged, plasti-glass tunnels at a dead run. If he didn’t get back to Lauren soon, there would be nothing to get back to. And if he was too late to save her…

  Xairn didn’t let himself think about that. Didn’t allow himself to explore the new emotions exploding inside him. Rage…possession…desperation…

  Please, he prayed, not knowing who he was praying to. Please don’t let me be too late. Oh Lauren…

  Chapter Two

  Sophie was nervous.

  “Of course you’re nervous.” Liv adjusted her veil and smiled at her. “It’s your wedding day—everyone’s nervous on their wedding day.”

  “You weren’t,” Sophie accused, looking at herself in the 3-D viewer. Like Olivia before her, she was wearing their mother’s wedding dress and she had to admit it looked beautiful. “You were so happy you were completely blissed out,” she continued, pointing at her twin. “So happy you didn’t even think twice about making me do the luck kiss with Sylvan.”

  Liv snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re going to complain about that? You wouldn’t be getting married today if it wasn’t for that luck kiss.”

  “She’s right, you know.” Kat bustled into the small tent-like changing area just outside the sacred grove. Once more she was playing the mother of the bride roll and making sure everything went perfectly. Of course, she had a lot less to do than she had for Olivia’s wedding because Sophie and Sylvan had decided to keep their bonding ceremony a small, intimate affair.

  “I know.” Sophie smiled at her sister and her best friend. “And believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m just saying you weren’t as nervous on your wedding day as I am, Liv.”

  “What are you nervous about?” Kat asked, frowning. “Believe me, there’s nothing to worry you. The guests are all seated, Sylvan’s waiting at the altar—or in front of the priestess, I guess. And I have to say he looks pretty amazing in that native Tranq Prime costume—you didn’t tell me they dressed like cavemen. I love the fur skirt and boots look.”

  Sophie laughed. “I have to agree with you there—Sylvan looks really good in his native outfit. But I assure you not all men look as good in that ‘fur skirt’ as you call it.”

  “I don’t know.” Liv smiled. “I saw Baird wearing his own furry kilt just before the ceremony and he looked pretty hot in it too.”

  “That’s because he and Sylvan both have such nice muscular chests,” Kat said. “I’d be jealous if I didn’t have a pair of hot guys of my own to admire.” She smirked. “Though I don’t know why the guys get to wear boots in the sacred grove while the rest of us go barefoot.”

  “I wondered about that too,” Sophie said. “It’s something to do with the boots being made of the fur of a consecrated animal. Apparently the Tranq Prime warriors pray over the vranna before they kill it.”

  “If that’s the huge abominable snowman thing they have to kill to prove they’re a man, I’d think they’d be praying pretty much every minute they were hunting it,” Liv said dryly. “Praying the damn thing doesn’t rip their heads off.”

  “Well, I have a really cute pair of heels that exactly match this dress.” Kat nodded at the beautiful blue-green silk sheath she was wearing. “I’d be happy to say a quick prayer over them if I could put them on.”

  Sophie shook her head. “You know it doesn’t work that way. No shoes allowed in the sacred grove.”

  “I know, I know…” Kat sighed. “But as I was saying before we got onto the subject of religious shoes, everything is good to go and the refreshments for the reception are all laid out. Everything looks fabulous. Well, except for that weird brown mush from Sylvan’s home world. That looks like dog crap on a plate, unfortunately.”

  “That would be the fleeta pudding.” Sophie made a face. “You didn’t try any, did you? You know it’s made of bug guts, right? There are legs in it and everything.”

  “Anything that looks and smells like that stuff, I’m smart enough not to put in my mouth,” Kat said tartly. “Oh, but I think we’d better stop talking about it. Look at Liv.”

  Liv, who was nearing the end of her first quadmester of pregnancy and just beginning to show, had a hand over her mouth and was looking distinctly green. “I think I need some air,” she whispered.

  “Sorry!” Kat opened the flap of the tent and waved Olivia out. “Just be sure you’re back in ten minutes. The ceremony is about to start.”

  “And that’s what’s worrying me,” Sophie said, as soon as her sister left, shutting the tent flap behind her. “Where’s Nadiah? She was supposed
to be here hours ago. I promised her a spot in my wedding but I can’t hold the whole thing up indefinitely waiting for her.”

  “I’m sure she’s on her way.” Kat patted her arm comfortingly. “Don’t feel bad, doll. That’s one of the advantages of having a small wedding—you’re not making a huge to-do so you don’t have to worry if things don’t go off perfectly.”

  “But Sylvan’s friend isn’t here either,” Sophie protested. “I mean, we knew it was iffy when we invited him but I was hoping there would be someone besides Baird to stand up with him.”

  “Well you could have had Deep and Lock if I hadn’t needed them to help,” Kat remarked. “But as it is, Lock is stationed at the docking bay to grab Nadiah and Sylvan’s friend the minute they get here and Deep is at the entrance of the sacred grove to be sure they get into their places quickly and quietly if the ceremony’s already started. So either way, you’re covered.”

  “Thanks, Kat.” Sophie gave her friend an impulsive hug. “You’re right—I should stop worrying. I can see you have everything under control.”

  Kat hugged her back. “Of course I do. So just relax and enjoy your big day. You look beautiful. Sylvan’s a very lucky guy.”

  “Look who I found, wandering around.” Olivia suddenly pushed back into the tent holding someone by the arm. It was a tall, slender girl with pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

  “Nadiah!” Sophie exclaimed happily.

  “Sophie! Omigoddess, you look gorgeous.” The Tranq Prime girl threw herself into Sophie’s arms and hugged her enthusiastically.

  “You look wonderful too.” Sophie hugged her back. The last time she’d seen Nadiah, her pale blond hair had been cut pixie short and frosted purple and blue at the tips. Now it had grown out past her shoulders and had just one deep blue streak which framed her face dramatically.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” Nadiah said, breaking the hug at last. “The stupid transport I hitched a ride on made an unscheduled stop and then when I did finally get onboard the Mother ship, I got lost. This place is huge. Much bigger than my home grotto.”