Wind Demon Triology: Book II: Evil Wind (11 page)

"That's a common enough Amazeen name, Khier,” Iyan reminded him.

"Aye but if memory serves, the Defense Queen was named Melanippe Kahmal!"

"Kahmal is the name of the Major on the
Alluvia
,” Caitlin said.

"But surely Kahmal is sworn to bring Raphaella to justice for helping you to escape,” Iyan said.

"Not necessarily,” Khiershon disagreed. “I always thought she must have had inside help in aiding me to escape Amazeen. What if that help was Akkadia Kahmal?"

"You may be right. Hell, she was even bragging to Kahmal!"

"If they were friends...” Caitlin began.

"She had no friends, I tell you!” Khiershon said. “I would have known!"

"All right,” Caitlin said, taking his word for it. “Then either one of two things is happening here.” She held up her thumb. “The two of them came to some kind of understanding and the Major isn't going to hold Raphie accountable for setting you loose or.... “She held up her index finger. “The Major is leading Raphie to her death on Rysalia Prime."

"With an unconscious Reaper cadet in tow,” Khiershon said, his face as stony as granite. “We've lost dozens of Reapers already to the Multitude's fires. I've no intention of losing even one more!"

"Khier, other than you, the only cadet not accounted for is Sajin. If you're correct, it is most likely him on the Amazeen ship,” Iyan stated.

"The only cadet we know about,” Khiershon corrected. “What if there are more that we
don't
know about? We need to liberate him before they can turn him over to the Multitude and question him to see if there are more cadets out there somewhere."

"And alert the Amazeen that you have a ship of men being masked as women on their scanners?” Caitlin asked. “You might as well signal on ahead to Rysalia Prime that we're coming to the Reapers’ rescue."

"She's right,” Iyan said. “I don't see any way to snatch the lone male off the
Alluvia
without giving ourselves away."

"Then he'll have to stay where he is and we'll add him to our pickup list,” Caitlin said. “Isn't that what we're doing here tonight? Cementing our plans for snatching your bloodkin from their doom?"

Khiershon nodded. He was still troubled, his nerves on edge, but he saw no way to help the male on the Amazeen ship. He'd do everything he could to save the man but if it came down to saving one man or ten, one would have to be sacrificed. He just prayed it didn't come to that.

"I know you're worried,” Caitlin said, reaching out to cover her husband's hand where it rested on the table. “Try not to let it get to you."

The Reaper nodded. “There's also Raphie,” he said. “If Major Kahmal is leading her to her doom...."

"Stop borrowing trouble, Khier,” Iyan told him. “Let's get the plan down first before we veer off on any tangents."

"All right,” Khiershon said. He looked around and realized his entire team had gathered in the lounge. Only Dax—who was in control of the ship—was missing. “Take a seat and let's go through this all again. Has anyone thought of any potential problems we need to deal with first?"

Raphaella had, indeed, recognized Caitlin's voice, but she had not found the Terran woman's antics amusing. What she had learned from the crew of the
Alluvia
had brought things home forcibly to her that this was not going to be a walk beside the lake they were undertaking. There was exacting danger aligned against them all. For the first time in her life, the Amazeen woman felt fear. Not for herself but for the man she loved. That he was with another woman only deepened Raphaella's fear for his wellbeing. She wouldn't be near him to protect him.

"Considering what we learned from Major Kahmal should we not inform them who is on the
DarkWind
?” Maeve Lynne McGregor asked Raphaella.

"No, I think not. It is best not to worry the Prime Reaper. He has enough on his mind as it is."

"He became very quiet when you told him you are Khiershon's mate,” McGregor said. “I'm not sure that was wise on your part to lie to him, Raphie."

Raphaella thought back to the odd look the Prime Reaper had given her. Had he been able to read her mind? Khiershon always could but then Khiershon had taken a drop of her blood. Did the Prime know she had not been completely honest? If Khiershon was adept at reading thoughts, how much more powerful would his bloodsire be? Would he need her blood in order to read her?

"I don't think either Reaper was aware of the other,” Raphaella said. “If Khiershon knew there was a Reaper on the
Alluvia
, he wouldn't have refrained from contacting him. Likewise if the Prime knew one of his bloodsons was near he would have hailed him."

"Perhaps not,” McGregor said. “Perhaps they know but both are being cautious, fearful of having some other ship intercept their transmission."

"Maybe,” Raphaella said.

"We should at least inform Khiershon and his crew what is happening,” McGregor declared. “If both he and Kahmal try to snatch the cadets at the same time, the men could be torn apart in the effort. He needs to know his bloodsire in on the
Alluvia
and that he is planning on turning himself over to the Daughters."

"Aye, now see therein lies the problem!” Raphaella said. “If I tell Khiershon his bloodsire is planning on allowing the Multitude to throw him into prison, Khier will snatch the Prime Reaper off the
Alluvia
and there will be hell to pay. The Daughters know Kahmal is on her way to Rysalia Prime with their most wanted man. Don't think for a moment they won't throw everything they have at Khiershon to get his bloodsire back! They want the Prime more than any other Reaper. It is too dangerous for Khiershon and your brother, Iyan!"

Maeve Lynne McGregor drew in a long, ragged breath. “Aye, I agree it will be dangerous but if both ships attempt to retrieve the cadets..."

"We have to make sure Khiershon's attempt to transport the cadets to the
DarkWind
fails,” Raphaella interrupted.

"How do we do that?"

"We block his transport signal. I brought the schematics for the new system they installed on the
DarkWind
with us when we left Corinth. We've engineers on board that can jam Khier's retrieval beams,” Raphaella explained. “Once they realize the cadets have been picked up by the
Alluvia
and the
Alluvia
is speeding away, we can tell Khier about his bloodsire."

"Then what?"

"We transport everyone from the
DarkWind
to our ship and we get the hell out of Rysalia Prime airspace, blowing up anything that tries to get in our way or comes after us."

"What about the
DarkWind
?” McGregor asked. “Do we just ditch it?"

Raphaella shrugged. “Why not? It's just a Terran ship."

"A Terran ship our men retrofitted to be a powerful warcruiser,” McGregor said. “Have you forgotten my people are still being hounded by the Rysalians?"

"I haven't forgotten, Maeve Lynne, but in the grand scheme of things that is of less importance than making sure we save the lives of Khiershon's bloodkin. Your brother would agree on that point."

Maeve Lynne McGregor figured her brother Iyan would have something to say about discarding a perfectly good ship and even more to say to her for being a party to Raphaella's plan. Having women in battle wasn't her brother's way and although he was many years older than her, she thought she knew him pretty well. He'd want to take the ship back to Corinth in case it was ever needed.

"Stop worrying, Maeve Lynne,” Raphaella said. “I've got things well under control."

McGregor watched the Amazeen stride away and not for the first time thought Raphaella had to be the most arrogant woman she'd ever had the displeasure of meeting. Not one female among the Serenians and Oceanian liked the Amazeen and few trusted her. Her single minded pursuit of Khiershon Cree was disquieting—especially now that the Reaper was legally Joined to Caitlin, a woman much admired among the rebels at Corinth. If it had not been for the fact that Khiershon had aboard the
DarkWind
many of their beloved menfolk, no Serenian or Oceanian woman would have agreed to crew the StarRaider for Raphaella. Few had agreed with the Amazeen when she'd first broached the subject of taking the vessel but Raphaella's barrage of insults and questioning of their courage had overridden good sense.

"Khier's going to beat her black and blue when he catches her,” Cadyna Wynth, the Oceanian navigator of the ship Raphaella had christened the
Ailith
, remarked to McGregor.

"I hope we all live long enough for him to do just that,” McGregor said, her jaw tight for she could almost feel Iyan's broad palm being applied to her own rear end.

Kamerone Cree was intently staring at Aegean's monitor, watching the StarRaider that was following the
Alluvia.
He was uneasy, had been for some time, and thinking back on it, realized that discomfort had began while he was speaking with the one named Raphaella. Instead of fading, the feeling was growing. Whatever was causing his restlessness concerned him.

"What's bothering you, Reaper?” Kahmal asked him as she swiveled her command chair around to face him.

"The woman was lying,” he said, his eyes narrowed. “Why would she lie about being the mate of a Reaper?"

"She knows Khiershon,” Kahmal said. “I can verify that."

"And you didn't want me to know she was in contact with my bloodson?” Cree asked around a tight jaw.

"I wanted to forestall any potential problem, Reaper, until everything was out in the open. Raphie has deep feelings for Khiershon Cree."

"I've no doubt she does,” Cree said. “It is her falsehood about being his woman that disturbs me."

"It is a well known fact he took her maidenhead, that they became lovers,” Kahmal said. “And she did help him to escape Amazeen. That, too, is true."

Cree frowned. “How is it possible he had sex with her but she is not his mate?” he questioned. “Reapers mate only once in their life."

"How do you know she isn't his mate?"

"Because the face of another woman shifted through her mind's eye when she proclaimed herself Khiershon Cree's mate,” he answered. “The image was too quick for me to get a good look at it but the woman's face seemed familiar."

Kahmal braced her elbows on her chair arms and steepled her fingers beneath her chin. “What do you know of Khiershon Cree?"

"He is one of the many seedlings taken from me and planted in Terran women,” he replied. “Beyond that, I know nothing of him. I've never laid eyes on any of my bloodsons."

"Do you know Khiershon is the bloodson who was reported killed in a crash landing on Amazeen when he was a child?"

Cree nodded. “I remember it being mentioned in passing but back then such things meant nothing to me."

"He would be your eldest, would he not?"

"I believe so.” He glanced at her. “What do you know of his time on Amazeen?"

"It was not an easy passing,” she answered truthfully. “That much I know and he was much feared. He had been kept so his seed could impregnate a new race of warrior women but we soon discovered that could not happen."

"The parasite within us destroys all female zygotes,” Cree said.

"So we learned. There were those who voted to eliminate him but before that could happen he used his mental powers to entrap Raphaella and she helped him to escape. Her whereabouts were unknown until this morning. His?” She shrugged. “He was arrested and taken to the Vex for questioning and subsequent execution."

Cree shuddered. “It was his presence I felt when I became aware in the containment cell there. A Reaper had been tortured in that cell and not too long before we landed."

"Aye, but there was no sign of him on the Vex or the Amazeen who had taken him there,” Kahmal said. “We suspect it was a Terran ship that rescued him and.... “She stopped, her eyes going wide.

Kamerone slowly turned to look at her. “He is on the ship that scanned us as we were speaking to the one who claims to be his mate,” he said.

"But that ship contained nothing but women,” Kahmal stated. “We scanned it when it began scanning us."

"Remember the captain of the Terran ship saying they'd been souped up?” Tyrian inquired. “That's what Zainabu's brother did for them. They are registering as all women but we know there is at least one male on board!"

"He's on that ship,” Cree said. “I know it as surely as I am standing here."

"Why did he not challenge us, then?” Kahmal asked. “He had to have discovered your presence onboard."

"Because I wager he's one among many men on that ship and he didn't want you to know that,” the Reaper said. “My guess is he's on his way to Rysalia Prime to attempt the same thing we are."

"Then we should contact him,” Sern said from her position at the navigational monitor.

"To make any ship within monitoring distance aware of him and his crew?” Cree asked, shaking his head. “No, that would not be a wise thing to do."

"And we're being monitored,” Deon said, bringing eyes to her. “There's an Amazeen ship shadowing us about five clicks to the starboard."

"Do you know whose?” Kahmal asked.

"It's the
Areto
,” Deon said quietly.

Kahmal cursed. “Tecmessa Sorn,” she said. “What the hell is she doing tracking us?"

"I take it she's not a bosom buddy of yours,” Cree remarked.

"She's a bitch. Her ship's name is translated to mean
unspeakable
and she hates men more than any Amazeen I've ever known. She has a sister who worked in the Rysalian Behaviors Modification Units,” Kahmal replied.

"Delyn Sorn?” Cree asked.

"Aye, Delyn. She, too, is a bitch of the first order. Do you know of her?"

"I had a session with the woman, aye,” Cree said, a muscle working in his lean jaw.

"I'll wager Delyn is on Tecmessa's ship. I've heard it said they are closer than sisters should be if you get my meaning."

"Aye, well incest is best when you keep it in the family,” Deon quipped.

"Should we acknowledge her trailing us?” Sern asked.

"Every Amazeen ship out there knows who we are and who we are bringing to Rysalia Prime,” Kahmal said. “No, I don't care to let that degenerate know I even give her a second thought."