Garden of Serenity (31 page)

Leaning in close, Bresilee’s hot breath flowed over her face, her nails digging angrily into the soft flesh below Jahara’s chin. “Lie here and think how your breeder has been emasculated by my knife, never to give you the offspring you desire. He lies outside the walls of the Garden, bleeding. If the wild animals don’t tear him apart, surely he will die of exposure.”

Even as her heart stopped beating, Jahara kept her stare fixed on Bresilee.

“Your eyes betray you, Jahara. I see how that has broken you. Think about him and your own pitiful life. Your Dame, the great Ryniah Khateri, will not even mourn your accidental death.” Bresilee’s tongue ran the length of Jahara’s cheek and she leaned in close to her ear. “I wonder who will remember you when you’re gone. I have guests upstairs celebrating the demise of the new world order. It’s time their hostess joined them. There’s nothing left to do for you here at the Garden, Jahara Khateri. Do think about that while I celebrate.”

* * * *

Brenimyn hobbled through the dimly lit corridors. Time was not on his side. Kylie would only be unconscious for a few minutes before the guards were alerted. He’d slipped away as the electrical field had shorted out.

Now he dragged himself through the odd labyrinth of hallways, not sure he was making his way out of the catacombs, but having no choice but to press forward. The whir of an approaching vehicle echoed off the walls and he searched in vain for a place to hide. Though the cubicles had given way to cement alleyways that crisscrossed in odd intervals there’d been no side hallways for a long stretch. His only hope was to stand and fight. In his battered condition, Brenimyn didn’t fool himself into believing it would be little more than a skirmish.

The vehicle rounded the last corner. Its lights focused on him. There was no running now.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I keep telling you, I don’t know where he went. He knocked me unconscious.” Kylie sat on the floor where they’d carried her, useless tears running down her cheeks. But the pain in her face was all too real. She ran her fingers gingerly through her hair. There was definitely a knot forming on the crown of her head and the wrenched muscles in her neck screamed in protest as she rolled her head from side to side.

“That breeder will pay for what he has done to you,” one of the guards said. The party atmosphere in the front room of the isolation complex had been replaced by a grave hunger to avenge Kylie’s honor.

“He won’t get away with this.”

“That breeder won’t be able to walk, let alone attack another woman when we’re through with him.”

The guards spoke over one another.

“Without knowing which direction he headed, even an injured breeder could escape through the various tunnels. There just aren’t enough of us to cover the labyrinth of hallways.” The Ginia woman’s brow furrowed in defeat. “I have no choice but to contact the director and let her know the prisoner—”

“No!” The word burst from Kylie’s lips with a little too much emphasis. “Can’t you see I am in need of medical attention?” Her voice softened. “Get me back to the mansion. I have no doubt Dr. Linsig is there and she can treat my wounds.” Her chin trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ll tell Dr. Bresilee the prisoner has escaped. After all, it was my fault for not listening to you.”

The woman next to her, gently helped her to her feet. “We are also culpable. We should never have left you alone with such a violent criminal.”

“You shouldn’t have to shoulder the responsibility of the breeder’s escape. It is I who will take the brunt of Dr. Bresilee’s disapproval.”

The guards nodded. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of one of Gabriella’s tirades.

* * * *

Brenimyn leaned heavily against the cement wall, his fists in front of his face. He wouldn’t be taken again without a fight.

The vehicle came to a stop several yards from him and two people jumped from the back. He could see nothing of their shadowed faces through the slits of his eyes.

“Brenimyn, what in Hades did they do to you?”

At the sound of the familiar voice, relief flooded through him, buckling his knees. Only the strong arms of his friend kept him from crashing to the cement floor.

Xylice’s hand cupped his cheek. “Dear brother. My dear brother …” Even without seeing her, Brenimyn heard the emotion in her words.

“And they say males are animals,” Kaeden mumbled as he took Brenimyn’s weight and dragged him back to the vehicle. A gasp of pain escaped his swollen lips. “Apologies, friend. Time is of the essence.”

They stretched him out in the back of the vehicle, his head cradled in Xylice’s lap.

“Can you heal him while we’re moving?” Xylice asked.

“There’s so much damage.” Kaeden sounded overwhelmed. “I’ve never had to fix broken bones. Jahara had no reason to teach us how to do it.” Even through the slits in his eyes, Brenimyn could make out the feeble light glowing from the healer’s hands as the vehicle turned and headed back in the direction it had come.

“Do what you can.” Xylice’s voice was gentle, her hands brushing the hair from Brenimyn’s face. “Dearest brother, you are so brave—” She bent and kissed his forehead.

“Shahara?” He forced her name through swollen lips.

“Don’t speak, dear friend.” It was Lukiam talking to him from behind the wheel. “All we know is that she left the government building alone. We can’t find her.”

“Kylie, shre’s—”

“We know, Bren. She’s our ally.” Xylice continued to stroke his hair. “It was she who called and told me where to find you. I think she figured out I did something with the cameras at your residence.”

“Doesh shre know?”

“We’re siblings? I doubt it. I think she just figured I was a supporter to the movement.”

The warmth of Kaeden’s healing flowed through him, making it easier to breathe. His hands moved over Brenimyn’s face, easing the pain and swelling.

“Kylie’s technokinetic. She manipulated the mechanisms in the cameras and the electrical barrier and shut it all down. She wanted me to hit her.” Brenimyn sucked air. “I couldn’t. She flung the communicator at her own face hard enough to knock her out. I watched her crumble to the floor.” He tried to sit up, but the pain in his torso was too intense. “I wanted to take her with me, but she made me promise I wouldn’t.”

“The woman was protecting you.” Xylice’s voice trembled with the emotion she worked to hold in check. “With her still there, we have time to get you to a safe place.”

“Bresilee will figure out she helped me. Kylie’s not safe,” Brenimyn said. “Promise me you’ll go back for her.”

“After what I saw on the cameras today, I’m thinking Kylie’s strong enough to hold her own against Bresilee.” Lukiam shot an amused look over his shoulder. “I don’t think telekinesis is her only talent.”

Satisfied with his face, Kaeden’s hands moved lower to repair Brenimyn’s broken ribs. The cement ceiling of the tunnel gave way to the twinkling stars of the night sky and the vehicle turned sharply on the main road, heading toward the agricultural section of the Garden.

“No, not there. Lukiam, turn around. Take me home.” Brenimyn forced himself to a sitting position, impatience driving him to ignore the pain. “I can’t do what I need to at the barns.”

“What you
need
, dear brother, is to heal. Not run into the flames of a dragon.” Xylice’s tears shimmered in the moonlight. “When Bresilee finds out you’ve escaped, that’ll be the first place they’ll look. You won’t be safe.”

“I’m not worried about me.” He cradled his sister’s face in his palm. “It’s Jahara. The prophecy has always been about Jahara.”

* * * *

Kylie held her head still as Linsig moved her palm over her chin. The pain eased.

“Tell me one more time.” Gabriella poured another generous helping of whiskey into the crystal glass. It was obvious the news Kylie had brought hadn’t been something the woman expected to hear in the midst of her celebration.

“The breeder is more cunning then we thought,” Kylie said. “He overpowered me. It was his fist that did the damage to my face. The last thing I remember is my head slamming against the wall. Obviously, it rendered me unconscious.” Linsig’s hands moved to repair the damage she’d done to her own head. Kylie had told no one of her technokinetic gifts. “I don’t know how long I lay there. The communicator was broken on the floor when I came to. I stumbled back to the guards and had them bring me here right away.” She closed her eyes as if reacting to the pain. She couldn’t chance meeting Gabriella’s probing gaze. “It was stupid of me to think the guards had incapacitated him with their beating. I take full responsibility for his escape.”

“And you have no idea how he disabled the electrical field?”

Kylie looked up and shook her head, not trusting her voice.

“It doesn’t matter. With Jahara held prisoner here in my lab, I have no doubt he will be searching the Gardens for his missing
love.
” Gabriella shuddered with disgust. “They can die together.”

“Sounds to me like it couldn’t have worked out better. There, it’s all done.” Linsig leaned back, studying Kylie’s healed face. “Jahara would’ve continued to thwart your authority, Gabriella. I agree, she must be eliminated.”

“You took Jahara?” Kylie stood on unsteady legs, trying not to react to the news. “But she’s done nothing to warrant imprisonment.”

“That healer has been a thorn in my side since she arrived.” Gabriella rounded on her, the woman’s eyes flashing with a madness Kylie had never seen. “When he comes for her—and he
will
come for her—I will take them both down and crush this futile revolution once and for all.” She threw back the rest of the whiskey and swiped the back of her hand across her lips. “You heard Dr. Linsig, that healer can no longer be trusted. No one gets the best of Gabriella Bresilee.” The woman’s maniacal laughter bounced off the walls, making her sound even more sinister.

Kylie’s throat burned with the acid churning in her gut. Whatever happened tonight, there was no doubt the Governmental Body of the Garden would back Gabriella in whatever lies she told the Chief Administrator about her daughter’s disappearance. Life in the Garden would become a living hell and its leader a power-hungry demon obsessed with eradicating every male from the face of the earth.

The creator help them, if Brenimyn and Jahara failed in their coup.

* * * *

“Computer, dim the lights.” Brenimyn stalked through the kitchen, not waiting to see if the cameras had shut down. It was totally moot at this point anyway.

Though he wasn’t completely healed, Kaeden had done a passable job of repairing the damage heaped on him by the guards and he moved with relatively little pain.

“Jahara.” Calling her name, he made quick work searching the small residence, not really expecting to find her here. Grabbing breeches from the bedroom closet, he hopped into them, nearly colliding with Xylice in the dining room.

“Brenimyn, anyone watching will know the feed isn’t real.” His sister waddled after him down the short hall toward the office.

“It doesn’t matter.” He tied the strings together at his waist. “I won’t be here long enough for them to discover the loop’s begun.” Stopping, he turned to look down at his twin sister. “You should’ve gone with Lukiam and Kaeden back to the barn. They’ll know what you’ve done for me.” He dropped his hand to her belly. “It’s not safe for any of you now.” The babies moved beneath his fingers.

“You’ll need my help to find Jahara. I’ll stay with you until we locate her. We’ve known for a long time ours would be a difficult journey.” Xylice covered her brother’s hand. “It’s why the Creator of this earth placed us in the same womb. We have more strength together. We’ll see this through to the end.”

He saw the love glisten in her eyes.

“Hurry, there’s not much time.” Xylice pushed on his stomach, breaking the emotional contact between them. “I’m sure they’ve cut your communication lines, it’ll take me a few minutes to rig another line to the outside.”

She was right of course. The vid-com was dead. Xylice was undeterred. Standing back, Brenimyn watched his sister pull wires from the back of the communicator, hauling them to the broken camera. Standing on a stool, her fingers pulled and twisted at the countless wires hanging from both devices until the communicator sparked to life.

“It’s not my best work, but you should be able to get through.”

Brenimyn pressed the buttons, praying he would find her at home. Relief flooded through him when her grainy face smiled at him. “Brenimyn, such a pleasant surprise.”

“Merenith …”

* * * *

Jahara lay on the stretcher, her muscles growing stiffer with each hour that passed. Her hands and feet prickled from the bindings cutting into her skin. She craned her neck to look at the guard standing by the door and caught the woman with her mouth gaping open in a wide yawn of boredom.

“Time would pass faster if you’d talk to me.”

The guard started at her voice but didn’t respond.

“Whatever. Suit yourself.” Jahara began to sing again, preferring her off-key tune to the heavy stillness of the brightly lit room.

“Has she been doing that all night?” Bresilee’s booming voice filled the small space.

“Yes, Director.”

“I’m sorry you had to endure it. I’ve had food and spirits sent to the isolation complex. The rest of the guards are there save for the two I just sent to recapture the breeder. We’ll have him shortly. The fool returned to Jahara’s residence.” She looked over at Jahara. “Very clever of you to loop the camera feed. But we were pretty sure you weren’t with him copulating when the head of security watched the two of you in bed
this
time. She just called to inform me of the deception.”

Jahara let out a sigh of relief. Brenimyn had escaped and now he was looking for her. Hope blossomed.

Bresilee addressed the guard. “When Mikalyn arrives, you can join the party with the other guards. This woman will be no threat to me with this in my possession.” Bresilee pulled a small gadget from her dress, waving it over Jahara’s face. “Do you know what this is, oh honorable healer?”