Taming Two Warriors (Kindred Tales)

“You won’t,” Vorn swore. “Liosh and I have come to get you both and bring you home with us.”

“But how, Brother?” Liosh objected. “It will be easy enough to steal Melinda away—I can bend these bars and have her back to the ship before anyone is the wiser. But every eye in this place is on that stage where Jodi is being held. How will you get to her, let alone bring her down unharmed with thousands of Varians in the way?”

“I’m thinking,” Vorn growled. He looked at Melli and she thought she saw a flash of gold behind the slitted yellow lizard eyes of his disguise. “Tell me again, exactly what’s going on. Why do they think Jodi is a good substitute for the T’lix Kruthe?”

Rapidly, Melli explained exactly what the High Priestess of Fertility had told them about the ancient artifact generating the necessary erotic energy to help the Varians breed and how they planned to use Jodi’s blood and pain as a substitute, though they really didn’t want to.

Vorn nodded at last, in understanding.

“So they’re looking for sexual energy, huh?” he muttered. “Well, I think we can manage that.”

Liosh frowned at him.

“Brother, what are you planning?”

Vorn shook his head.

“Never mind. Just get Melli out of here and back to the ship. If everything goes well, Jodi and I will join you soon. If not, well…” He shook his head. “Give us a couple of hours and if we haven’t come, assume we aren’t going to and go back to the Mother Ship without us.”

“What?” Liosh exclaimed. “You can’t expect us to just leave you.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to,” Vorn told him. “Now get Melli out of that cage and go back to the ship. I’ll see you later if the Goddess wills it.”

Melli couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

“But Vorn, what are you going to do?” she asked.

His eyes gleamed gold again.

“I’m going to rescue my female or die trying. Now go!”

Forty-Four

Jodi tried to brace herself as the huge, muscular Varian uncoiled a long, wicked-looking whip and swished it through the air like an evil black snake. She tried not to flinch as it whispered past her ear, snapping and cracking in a way that made her want to cringe and try to make herself as small as possible.

Take yourself away, she thought desperately, closing her eyes as tight as she could. Take yourself away and don’t look, don’t feel, don’t be here. Be somewhere else—think of something else—anything else.

But that was easier said than done, especially when the Varians were making their strange thrumming-hum again and the whip was whistling all around her, as the Varian Master of Whips got ready to flay the skin right off her back. She wondered distractedly how much it was going to hurt. And how much would she have to bleed before she went unconscious and didn’t have to feel it anymore? How much…

“The Ssacrifice of Blood will now commence,” the Priestess of Fertility announced and the thrumming-humming grew louder. “Prepare to accept and transmit the energy which will be generated. Prepare to fertilize your eggsss,” she hissed. “Master of Whipsss—you may make the first blow.”

Jodi heard the whip whistle again and squeezed her whole body tight.

Here it comes, she thought, her heart pounding so hard she felt faint. Here it comes, here it comes, here it—

“Stop!” The deep, roaring voice was oddly familiar.

Jodi’s eyes flew open and she twisted around to see that the huge Varian with the whip was frozen in place. His seven-fingered hand was being held in the grip of an even larger Varian, who had clearly kept him from landing the first blow and was even now holding him back from wielding the whip.

“Who are you?” the High Priestess demanded, glaring at him. “How dare you interrupt our Festival of Fertility?”

“I’m only interrupting because I have a better option for you,” the new Varian told her. “A way to raise the erotic energy you need through Lust instead of Blood.”

Her slitted lizard eyes narrowed.

“Lust instead of Blood? But how?”

“How else?” the new male said. “By breeding.”

The Priestess made a hiss of pure disgust.

“Do you propose to breed the warm-blooded female yourself? You know such an idea is blasphemy!”

“Only if I was really a Varian.” And then he pulled something off his head and to Jodi’s shock, the huge guard disappeared and Vorn was standing there in his place.

The Priestess looked shocked too. Her yellow slitted eyes widened and she stared in surprise at the Beast Kindred.

“Who are you?” she demanded, glaring at him as she finally recovered her composure. “And how dare you infiltrate our ceremony?”

“I’m Vorn of the Beast Kindred and I’m here to Claim my female,” Vorn growled. “But first, we’re going to make this the most fertile fucking Fertility Festival you’ve ever had.”

“What are you saying, warm-blooder?” the Priestess asked. “Are you offering us Lust in place of Blood?”