Saved by the Beast (Kindred Tales)

“Yeah, but you also said she didn’t understand much Standard or English,” Brun pointed out. “Who knows what she thought you said? She might be having a picnic with the billibubs while a hungry xenox watches the lot of them right now, for all we know.”

The pilot’s face went pale.

“You’re right—I’d better go call Commander Bard,” he told his brother. “Can you stay here and keep trying to find her?”

“Of course, but I don’t think I will. Those damn sweet-grass bushes are overpowering,”

The pilot left in a hurry and his brother, Brun, continued to sniff around.

But by then, Makenna knew exactly how to avoid him and anyone else who might come looking for her.

She was going to make sure they couldn’t find her, no matter how hard they searched.

31

“Commander Bard, I have an urgent call for you from Rageron. Should I put it on the viewscreen?” the communications officer asked over com-link.

Bard frowned. What in the Seven Hells? He had been sitting on the couch, staring into the blue and gold flames of his fireplace and trying not to think before the call came in. Tiny was sitting beside him, but the big Ya’greer refused to look at him or acknowledge him in any way.

“Some comfort you are,” Bard had told him but Tiny only threw him a scornful look over one shaggy shoulder as if to say, It’s all your fault she’s gone. You ought to feel bad for it—you don’t deserve any comfort.

The call coming in had almost been a relief, but the fact that it was from Rageron had Bard worried.

“Yes, I’ll take it,” he said. Pushing a button imbedded on the side of his couch, he caused a viewscreen to rise from the back of the fireplace. It was a feature that all High Council members had—though he rarely had to use it.

As soon as the viewscreen activated, the face of a Beast Kindred appeared on the screen. It took Bard a moment to recognize the pilot who had been flying the shuttle Makenna had been on and a moment more to register the worry in the other male’s golden eyes, so like his own.

Something’s happened to Makenna! He was sure of it—the certainty sat like a lead weight in his belly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” he snapped, before the pilot could even open his mouth.

“Well, Sir, I don’t know if anything is wrong, exactly,” the pilot hedged.

“Where’s Makenna?” Bard demanded harshly, glaring at the viewscreen. “Put her on—I want to talk to her!”

“Well, that’s just it, Commander Bard, I can’t put her on because I don’t know where she is,” the pilot said.

“What?” The lead weight in his stomach began to melt and boil, turning to fury in an instant. “What happened?” he shouted at the viewscreen. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know, Sir!” The pilot had a panicked look in his eyes now. “We set down on Rageron and I asked her if she’d mind if I took a moment to get a drink with my brother. We asked if she’d like to come with us, but she said—well, she indicated—that she’d like to stay with the shuttle. But when I came back to the Docking Yard, she was gone. I’ve searched everywhere but I can’t find her.” He lifted his hands, palms up and out, as though to indicate that Makenna was no place to be found.

For a moment, Bard was so angry and worried that he felt like his heart might explode. He glared at the male on the viewscreen.

“You left her alone in the Docking Yard?” he demanded.

“Well, Sir, your scent was all over her,” the pilot pointed out. “So Brun and I—that’s my brother’s name—figured she’d be fine where she was. We knew no other Kindred would touch her as long as she smelled like you.”

No other Kindred would touch her, Bard thought, feeling sick. But what about a Trollox? What about that bastard called Biter, who followed us through the fold from Passion Prime? What if she was still hanging around and followed the shuttle to Rageron?

Bard didn’t think it was very likely, but once it snuck into his mind, his brain wouldn’t let go of it. He knew how stubborn the big, troll-like creatures could be. It was possible that Biter had been hanging around, biding his time.

And even if he wasn’t, what if she wanders into the Deep Blue? You know all the dangers lurking there, an anxious voice whispered in his head. She’ll be easy prey for any large predator that comes along.

“I’m really sorry, Commander Bard.” The pilot’s voice brought him back from his morbid thoughts. “I didn’t know she’d wander off. I thought—”

“Never mind what you fucking ‘thought’,” Bard growled. “Which Docking Yard did you land at?”

The pilot gave him the name and he nodded shortly.