The Darkest Warrior (Lords of the Underworld 14)

He couldn't mean the ancient warriors...could he? Of course not. Judging by his odd accent, English wasn't his first language. He'd meant something else entirely, surely.

Still, tendrils of fear slipped down her spine. "Stop calling me female." She wrenched free, vaulted up. "And stop stopping me! My sister needs her medicine, okay, which means I need to rescue her."

"I was able to observe Zion for five months as we fought in this All War. She'll be safe with him."

All War?

"I've never seen him harm a female," Knox continued. "Even an other-realm assassin with every intention of killing him."

Other-realm? "How can I get this through your thick skull? Nola. Needs. Her. Medicine." Unwilling to wait for his response, she faked left, darted right.

Knox caught her; of course he caught her. In a blink, he had her draped over his shoulder, clearly his favorite position, and carted her off.

She fought him until the frigid air turned her blood to sludge and zapped her strength. Soon, she couldn't move, could only shiver.

"So cold..." Too cold. "Please...follow...Zion."

"I'm taking you to safety. You're welcome."

She gnashed her teeth. Pretend to be reasonable. "Win my sister...from Zion...safety...wealthy family pay...millions." Translation: Vale would write him a hot check. "Will do anything...you want."

"You'll do anything I want, anyway."

Okay, she wasn't getting anywhere, had to think this through. If Zion truly had a problem hurting women--a sentiment Knox didn't share--Nola was better off with him. Problem was, Vale didn't trust Knox. He was a murderer, so lying wasn't too far outside his wheelhouse.

"Don't care about...your realms or All War," she said. "Only care about...sister."

Knox thought for a moment, then nodded as if he'd just made a monumental decision. "I have questions about Terra, you have ans

wers. Provide me with willing and swift information. In exchange, I'll let you go--maybe--and you can hunt for your sister on your own."

Maybe? Maybe wasn't good enough. For now, though, she had to continue playing along. Obviously, she didn't have the skills to ditch him. Also, Nola had eleven hours before she became desperate for another dose of her pills.

Plenty of time for Vale to win Knox over...let's hope.

In the meantime, if an opportunity presented itself, she would mount an escape.

"All right...yes," she said. "Will tell you anything...you want to know about, um, Terra. Yep. Good ole Terra." In sci-fi, aliens often referred to Earth as Terra. But what was it to Knox? "My favorite..." Person? Place? Thing?

"Realm."

"Yes! Of course." No need to exaggerate her next full-body shiver. She nearly knocked him off his feet. "Too cold to think."

"Be careful, female." His tone held a low, seductive menace more potent than--Whoa! Seductive menace? Who am I? Menace was never sexy. "If you lie to me, or betray me in any way, you will become my enemy. My enemies die painfully, and always."