Part 36 (2/2)
”Huh?” Nina and Lissa both looked confused.
”Never mind.” Maggie shook her head. ”The point is, he wasn't right for me. I just wish...wish I would have realized that earlier, back when I was still with Kor.”
Lissa frowned. ”Kor is the name of the male you rescued from Lady Pope'nose, right? The slave who later bought you at the Flesh Bazaar and took you to the Dragon's Mouth to have your implant removed?”
Maggie frowned. ”Hey, how did you know all that? Have you been talking to my bartender?”
”What? No-she's been talking to the bounty hunter. That Salix guy.” Nina s.h.i.+vered. ”I don't trust him.”
”No, but he brought Maggie home safely,” Lissa pointed out. ”And he's the one who recognized Kor as the male that was with Maggie. Although now he's going by the name of Therron.”
”What?” A great deal of Maggie's drunkenness seemed to magically dissipate. ”What name did you say?”
”He says his name is Therron and he's terrorizing our whole planet,” Nina said urgently. She put a hand to her temple. ”G.o.d, I know I've heard that name before but I just can't remember where.”
”He's already destroyed two villages and he's moving towards the capital city,” Lissa continued for her. ”There doesn't seem to be anything anyone can do to stop him-he's completely invulnerable to weapons of every kind.”
”Lasers and bullets bounce off his skin,” Nina said. ”Fire and ice have no effect on him. Saber even authorized dropping a bomb and he walked away from the blast without a scratch.”
”Oh my G.o.d.” Maggie put a hand to her head. ”What...what is he doing? Is he shooting things with his eyes?”
”Yes, exactly!” Nina cried. ”He's got these incredibly hot red beams that seem to shoot right out of his eyes. Did he have those when he was with you?”
”He did.” Maggie nodded. ”But he didn't destroy anything with them. Well, I mean he blew a hole in Lady Pope'nose's dungeon floor, but other than that he only used them for good. He gave me corrective eye surgery with them.” She pointed at her face. ”See? No more gla.s.ses.”
”If he was using this power for good when he was with you, why has he suddenly gone berserk with it now?” Lissa wondered. ”And why is he going by Therron instead of-what did you call him?”
”Kor. I called him Kor.” Maggie felt like crying. ”This is probably all my fault. He was really upset when we parted. I mean, he always tries to act nonchalant but I know when he's hurt-I hurt him by picking Donald. Oh, why am I so stupid?”
”Honey, you have to stop beating yourself up over it,” Nina soothed. ”These things happen-we all make mistakes.”
”Most of those mistakes don't end with someone's ex-boyfriend blowing up towns with his laser vision, though,” Maggie pointed out morosely.
”Those glowing red eyes...” Lissa shook her head. ”It's not natural. That kind of power isn't Kindred, yet outwardly he appears to be one of our people.”
”Oh, he is Kindred-or he has Kindred blood, anyway. But he hates them,” Maggie said. ”Because he says his first slave master told him it was the Kindred who sold him away for being a freak.”
”What?” Lissa frowned. ”None of us would ever sell a baby to slavers, even if it was different.”
”I don't know.” Maggie shrugged. ”That's just what he said.”
”So he gets upset after Maggie breaks up with him and comes here to target the Kindred on Tarsia,” Lissa said thoughtfully. ”But why us?”
”Wait a minute.” Nina snapped her fingers. ”Maggie, when you rescued him, what did he look like?”
”What did he look like?” Maggie frowned. ”Well, he was mostly naked...”
”No, I mean, did she have him tied up to a post? Put him in handcuffs...?”
”He was on his knees with his hands behind his back. Oh, and he was coated in this thick, gray dust and there was a little stream running right in front of him but he couldn't get any of the water on him or in him, because of the dust.”
”Oh my G.o.d...” Nina's face went pale. ”I just remembered where I heard the name Therron-it was the name of the Swamp Witch's son. And that's the scene she showed me in her cauldron when she was trying to break up Reddix and me.”
Maggie frowned. ”Oh! Now I think I remember you saying something about that back when we were all in the Mother s.h.i.+p together. Didn't you?”
”Maybe.” Nina put a hand to her head. ”Oh, this is so weird. If this is right, this person is Reddix's half brother. At least that's what the Swamp Witch claimed.”
”And if Therron is Xandra's son-it's no wonder he's targeting us! He is getting revenge on the people she thinks cast her out,” Lissa said, nodding. ”It all makes sense now.”
”I have to come and talk to him,” Maggie exclaimed. ”I talked him out of blowing up Lady Pope'nose-I'm sure I can keep him from frying your capital city too.”
”I don't know.” Lissa frowned. ”There's something...different about him. Something other. Even Salix says he doesn't act or speak like the male he met when he came to get you.”
”Maybe he's crazy with grief over Maggie leaving him,” Nina said reasonably. ”In which case, I think we should bring her over.”
Lissa frowned. ”It's very dangerous but I don't know what else to do. Saber and Reddix are getting ready to face him now. If he cuts them down with his beams...”
Maggie didn't feel a bit drunk now. ”I'm getting on the next Kindred shuttle. You girls call the Mother s.h.i.+p and tell them to fold s.p.a.ce for Tarsia. I'll see you soon!”
”Wait, Maggie-shouldn't you tell your family first?” Nina protested. ”They already lost you for more than six months and that wasn't even a whole month ago.”
Maggie shook her head. ”It would just worry my mom. And really, there's nothing to be worried about. Kor always said he would never hurt me-I still believe that's true.”
”I hope you're right,” murmured Lissa. ”Come, then, Maggie. And please for the G.o.ddess's sake, hurry.”
Chapter Thirty-five.
”Kill them! Kill them all!” the dark voice drove Therron on, though he scarcely knew where he was. The last thing he remembered was the proximity alert warnings of his s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p as he descended to the surface of the Black Planet...
”Warning!” the s.h.i.+p had bleated as he took it down through the burning atmosphere. ”Warning! The surface below is pure superheated t.i.tanium Dioxide. Proximity alert-the s.h.i.+elds can hold for less than fifteen solar minutes at these temperatures. Stepping outside the s.h.i.+p will result in immediate termination of all life forms.”
Kor had ignored the warnings contemptuously. He had known by then that he was different...special. And, the dark voice had promised him unlimited powers as soon as he breathed the thick black fumes that rose from the cracked crust. As soon as he touched its surface and called it home. More importantly, it promised to end his pain, to wipe all memory of Maggie from his brain forever. Kor wanted that-wanted it more than anything.
When he stepped out upon the black, sere surface, the soles of his boots cracked and melted and a stinging wind filled with choking black dust coated his body. The heat was incredible-unbearable-and yet it didn't hurt him. In the howling wind that whipped around him, he heard thousands of deep, inhuman voices. Sensed the presence of a mighty h.o.a.rd striving to break free.
”Back!” the dark voice ordered. ”The male is my flesh-my vessel to fill and none other shall have him! Breathe, ” it ordered Kor. ”Breathe, deep!”
Kor had taken a deep breath, inhaling pure evil, drawing utter chaos and corruption into his lungs. The Black Planet seemed to waver around him and he heard the thousands of voices howling and screeching...and then he knew no more.
When he woke again, he was back aboard the s.h.i.+p he had stolen from Lady Pope'nose and they were high above the planet. The dark voice, which had been speaking to him from the moment he had dived into the Pool of Remembrance to rescue Maggie at the Lo'thian spa, spoke again-but this time instead of whispering, it came out as a deep, harsh sound.
<script>