The Beholder (20 page)

“I’m telling the truth,” Kane said.

Quinton stepped forward. “We’ll find out when you’ve spent some time with the doom demons. Now, go peaceably with us, or we’ll force you.”

Doom demons? Nina’s brow wrinkled in thought. They were a new species she’d never heard of, but it didn’t surprise her. Her grandmother had warned her
of the many types of demons in the underworld. Even her grandmother, the previous Guardian, hadn’t battled all of them. Whatever they were, doom demons didn’t sound pleasant.

“Take me, but leave her.” Kane motioned toward Nina.

“She knows too much, and she’s as guilty as you of hiding the gleaner. She must stand before the tribunal.”

“She’s done nothing. This was all my fault. Let her go—run, Nina!” Kane shoved her. The air around him shimmered and pulsed; then he shifted. His clothes ripped away with his human skin as he leaped on Quinton.

The other two-skins dove in, driven to a frenzied attack by the sudden violence.

Nina lost sight of Kane, hidden within a huge mass of fur, whirling claws and fangs. She screamed and ran straight into the middle of the fray.

“Freeze!” Shots rang out.

A bullet whizzed past Nina’s ear. The loud blast not only stopped Nina but all the other shifters as well. She searched for Kane, but the lion bodies on top of him were snarled together like fallen dominoes. Then she spotted Arwan, gun drawn and aimed at Nina’s heart.

“Keep your hands up,” Arwan ordered. She scowled at her fellow pride members. “Get off of him. Right now. All of you,
off.
” Arwan’s gaze looked frantically for Kane, her expression exposing more than mere apprehension.

Nina prayed Kane was still alive as the animals
parted, some limping away with bites and torn flesh. When she saw Kane at the center, she let out the breath she’d been holding. Minor bites and scratches covered his furry snout and body. His lion eyes were still vicious and wary from the heat of the battle. He snarled dangerously, flashing fangs, crouched and ready to strike again if his enemies came too close. The old shoulder and arm bites hadn’t reopened, thank goodness. Nina wanted to get to him, and it took all of her willpower to stay rooted to her spot.

Several seniphs lay on the ground near his feet, their bloody bodies not moving. Quinton was one of them. The other five council lions gave Kane a wide berth, eyes guarded, their spines taut and riddled with wounds. All the two-skins seemed accepting of the violence, as if it were routine. Three female seniphs had cautiously approached Quinton and licked the wounds on his face and body. Nina saw him coming around. She guessed all two-skins thought nothing of their primitive animal natures. But as an outside observer, it was brutal to watch. Her heart still hammered in her chest, and it had left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Almost as bad as having a gun pointed at her, but not quite.

“Kane, you go peaceably, or she dies.” Arwan looked down the barrel of her gun at Nina.

Kane seemed to see Nina for the first time since the battle. Impotent rage darkened his green eyes almost to black.

“What’s it gonna be, Kane?” Arwan asked.

“You win,” Kane said in a frustrated growl that sent shivers along Nina’s spine. It sounded so foreign, hearing
his voice coming from his seniph body. The huge lion mouth made it deeper, more guttural and fearsome.

“Chain him, and cuff her.” Arwan motioned to the two deputies, calling them by name, Clive and Jake. Nina’s suspicions had been correct. Clive resembled the bulldog. Jake was the lanky one.

Kane allowed them to shackle his neck and feet. They were the kind of iron chains she had seen used on large boat anchors, a good two inches thick. The padlocks were the size used on treasure chests. They weren’t taking any chances of Kane escaping.

Then Jake came over to Nina, pulled off her gloves and cuffed her wrists. Nina could see Kane struggling to control his temper. She knew he’d fight to the death for her. His willingness to save her from harm awed her and caused an oppressive weight to settle on top of her chest. At least he cared for her a little, or was it just his overprotective alpha nature stepping to the fore? Either way, she didn’t want him harmed for her sake.

“Hurry it up,” Nina whispered to Jake.

At her human orders, he grunted with contempt. In seconds the cold metal clamped around her wrists. He threw her gloves on the ground then trudged through the snow to rejoin Clive.

Arwan crept up beside her. “You go with me, human.”

The deputies dragged Kane off, the other seniphs flanking them.

Kane glanced over his shoulder at Nina and said, “You should have run.” Remorse and sorrow filled his eyes. His expression was one of total acceptance of his
fate, human in every way and at odds coming from the face of such a majestic, powerful being. It was the first time since meeting Kane that Nina sensed any defenselessness in him. Even when he’d been looking for Ethan, he hadn’t given up hope of finding him. Nina felt Kane’s sadness at having failed Ethan and herself. In that instant she knew she loved Kane, both sides of him.

Arwan grabbed Nina’s handcuffs, jerking her in the opposite direction. “Stop gawking and get moving, human,” she ordered.

The jealousy in Arwan’s voice came through loud and clear. Nina glowered at her and wondered what Arwan had in store for her.

T
he loud vibrations of the tire chains on the police cruiser thundered in Nina’s ears. She glanced through the wire bars at Arwan driving. The sheriff hadn’t said one word to Nina the whole long walk back to the cruiser. Nina could feel the uncomfortable tension rolling off Arwan like water off a roof. She didn’t like or trust humans.

Nina decided to wait for Arwan to speak first, for she knew the alpha female in Arwan liked complete control over every situation and if Nina initiated the conversation Arwan would rebel and clam up. So Nina shoved her cold manacled hands down between her legs and stared out the window. The morning sun sat higher in the sky, and Nina had to squint as she looked at the grape orchards and white cleared fields. They were getting close to Brayville.

“You’re not just human.” Arwan had to speak over the sound of the chains, and her voice sounded shrill inside the closed space. “What else are you?”

“Clairvoyant.”

“You reek of witch.”

“My sisters call me that all the time.” She heard Arwan hold back a snort of laughter and finished with, “But you’re just smelling the white magic that makes my clairvoyance possible.”

“What’s your name?” Some of the brittleness melted from Arwan’s voice.

Nina decided it was time to lie. If the seniphs knew her sister was the Guardian, they would surely kill her right away. At least hiding her identity might give her time to plot an escape. “Nina Gray.”

“That so?” Arwan didn’t sound convinced.

“I’d prove it to you, but Kane burned all my ID when he abducted me.”

“You’re not willingly with him?” Arwan turned her beautiful hazel eyes toward the rearview mirror and gazed at Nina.

“Well, at first I was his prisoner….” Nina hesitated, unwilling to discuss the twists and turns of their short-lived relationship.

Arwan shot Nina a perceptive gaze, reading the subtext behind Nina’s reluctance. “He can be very persuasive.”

Had Kane slept with her? Sure he had. He’d probably bedded all the women in the pride at one time or another. “How well do you know Kane?” Nina asked.

“Been best friends since I can remember. Why did Kane take you prisoner?”

“He guessed that I knew he was a seniph.” Something stopped Nina from telling Arwan about her ability to sense living creatures’ emotions and how Kane had used that power to help track Ethan. Arwan’s sudden false sense of chattiness put Nina on guard. She reminded Nina of the popular girl in high school who talked to you only to get information, then dropped you off her radar.

“So, what drew you to the area?”

“I had a job near here. I was on my way home and stopped at the café in Brayville. Unfortunately, we bumped into each other at the door. His aura freaked me out, and I knew he was a seniph then. I didn’t hide it very well, because he followed me.”

“Oh, I must have been in the restroom, or I’d have seen that.” She contemplated the turn of bad luck, then said, “If you know about us, then you must be well aware of all shifters.”

“I know more than I need to,” Nina said in a deadpan voice.

“Well, that explains a lot.” Her eyes turned hard and gleaming as she said, “Then you know that gleaners can’t be allowed to live.”

“I know. I’m just sorry he’s Kane’s brother.”

“Me, too. I know it looked like I didn’t care back there, but I was just covering my butt. Somehow the council got wind of the gleaner killings at the Baldoon place and assumed it was Ethan. They demanded I find the gleaner, and if I didn’t I’d suffer the same
punishment as Kane.” She heaved a frustrated sigh. “I would have protected him if I could. I didn’t know you’d both arrived at Ethan’s den when we did.”

“How did you know where to find Ethan’s den?”

“I knew Ethan would stay on the Van Cleave property, and Kane would head for the cabin or the cave looking for Ethan. I figured Ethan would hide near those two areas and seek shelter and warmth there, so I went to both places.”

Nina felt another tinge of jealousy. Arwan had probably played with Kane and Ethan in that cave, been a big part of their lives, of Kane’s life. Nina had had only a few days with Kane.

At Nina’s silence, Arwan continued. “I went to the cabin first. I saw Ethan’s tracks, but they disappeared, as I’m sure you found out. Then I backtracked and followed your and Kane’s footprints. They led to the cave and then to Ethan’s den. I wanted to go alone so Kane wouldn’t be implicated, but Quinton insisted the council attend the hunt. My hands were tied. It was damn bad luck that you two found the den at the same time.”

“Quinton dislikes Kane? Why?”

“Long story, but the short of it is Quinton is Daphne’s cousin, and he’s been out for Kane’s blood ever since Kane took her life, even though Kane was exonerated for it—hah, looks like Kane got a little of Quinton’s blood today.” Arwan’s lips stretched in a savage grin. “Quinton’s lucky he’s still alive.”

“I’m sure he knows that.” This seemed like a natural segue into her next question, and she asked, “What was Daphne like?”
“Her clothes look better on you.”

Nina frowned down at Daphne’s jacket and at the edge of the long sweater peeking out below it. She’d forgotten she was wearing Daphne’s clothes. “How did you know these were hers?”

“Her smell is all over them.” Arwan wrinkled her nose, repulsed.

“So, you two got along?”

“She resented me because I was Kane’s best friend.”

“Jealous type, huh?”

“Not so much at first, but when she couldn’t give him kids, she grew insecure and took to drinking. A mean drunk, too. Didn’t care who she ran with, either. She was called before the council for drinking with human men and putting the pride in danger several times. Personally, I don’t know how Kane stood her. She made his life hell. Honestly, I was glad when Kane ended her life, and so was the council, all except Quinton.”

Nina wasn’t surprised by the coldness in Arwan’s voice. Seniphs appeared to take death in stride, unless they were related and felt a need for revenge like Quinton. Poor Kane. He hadn’t confided in Nina about Daphne’s darker side. Despite his trying to convince Nina that he didn’t believe in love, Kane had cared enough to stick by his barren wife. It gave Nina a tiny hope that they could have a future together—if, and that was a big if—they survived this present danger.

Silence settled between them while they both mulled over Daphne in Kane’s life. Then Arwan said, “If you

know where Ethan is, it would be better if you told me. I can help him escape.”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure. I’d do anything for Kane. He’s my friend.”

Nina sensed a frosty possessiveness in Arwan’s voice, and it prompted her to ask, “How long have you loved Kane?”

Arwan laughed derisively, sobered and narrowed her eyes at Nina in the rearview mirror. “You’re good. No one else has ever asked me that.”

“It’s pretty obvious to me.” Nina spoke past the growing ball of emotion threatening to choke her. “Were you two lovers at one time?”

Arwan laughed again, this time with full-blown bitterness. “That’s a joke. He’s never given me the time of day.”

“I’m sorry.” Nina felt some of the tension leave her chest.

“Don’t be, human, it’s none of your concern anyway.” Arwan made a face in the mirror at Nina, then said, “Let’s get back to Ethan. You didn’t answer my question. Do you know where he is?”

“I don’t. Honestly, we’d just found the den when you arrived.”

“Who has Ethan, then?”

“I wonder if he’s still alive.”

A Teflon smile stretched across Arwan’s lips. “You seem okay for a human. A shame you have to stand before a tribunal.”

Nina didn’t see one bit of compassion in Arwan’s expression as she asked, “Will it be bad?”
“You’ll probably suffer the same fate as Kane. Death.”

The word tumbled down between them with the force of a dump-truck load of bricks. Nina’s fear rose up and clenched her chest until she could hardly breathe.

Kane glanced around at his small cell, a ten-by-ten area with a toilet and solid walls. A set of iron bars spanned the wall that held the door. The air smelled of pine cleaner, stale urine and seniph musk. They’d stashed him in solitary confinement. Beyond the door was a vestibule and another wall of steel six inches thick. Only way in was a solid-steel electronic door. Hannibal Lecter had had it better than Kane. At least Hannibal had had glass.

Kane tugged at the manacles holding his wrists and ankles to the wall. They wouldn’t budge. They’d been forged to hold seniphs, and he knew it would take an elephant to pull those chains from the wall. He was wearing only a loincloth that the deputies had given him. The minor wounds he’d gotten from attacking Quinton were still bleeding, but it had been well worth getting them, if only to finally put Quinton down. He knew it would bode ill for him, because Quinton was First Councilman and usually the deciding factor in death sentences. It would have all been worth it if Nina had run when he’d told her. She should have obeyed him. Damn her! All he could think about was how he could get her out of the mess he’d dragged her into.