Zaureth Awakened: 11.5 (Enigma) Read online

  Amy was glad she hadn’t left as well. “Me too, Dr. Lynnville.”

  “Then you wouldn’t mind me running some tests?”

  Amy blew out a breath. “Of course. I just want—” The feeling of the electric shock returned behind her eyes, accompanied by that same bright, piercing light. “Ah, God.”

  Everyone was suddenly there, hovering over her, speaking at once.

  Mallory’s voice rose above the rest. “Talk to me, Amy! What is it?”

  “My eyes,” Amy whispered, her eyelids squeezed tightly shut. “Something is wrong with my eyes.”

  Dr. Lynnville leaned in close, obviously to be heard over Mallory’s attempt at soothing her sister. “We need to get you to my office where I can look you over.”

  Amy nodded, reaching for the doctor’s hand.

  “I got her,” Artie gruffly offered. The bed dipped next to Amy’s hip. “Put your arm around my neck.”

  Doing as she was told, Amy allowed Artie to lift her from the bed. She rested her head on his shoulder, keeping her eyes firmly closed. It seemed to be the only way to hold the nausea at bay.

  Mallory followed close behind. “I’ll be right there, Amy. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  Artie spoke without slowing. “I’m sorry, Miss Cahill. I can’t allow you to leave the premises. I’ll go with your sister. She’ll be safe with me.”

  He didn’t bother waiting for a response. He lifted Amy higher against his chest and descended the stairs.

  * * * *

  Amy kept as still as possible, huddled under a sheet on Dr. Lynnville’s examining table.

  A nurse had dressed her in some kind of gown before taking blood and a urine sample.

  The doctor had ordered an MRI, which meant Amy would be taken to the local hospital once her test results were back.

  “Are you warm enough?” Dr. Lynnville entered the room, moving to the right side of the exam table.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Papers began rustling next to Amy’s head. “We have some of your results back. I think I can safely say I have an answer for your nausea and fainting spells. But the pain behind your eyes will call for further testing.”

  Amy sat up and faced the doctor. “What did you find?”

  “You’re pregnant.”

  Disbelief warred with pure joy inside Amy’s heart. How could she be with child? Zaureth would have known. It had been less than two weeks since she’d been with him. “Pregnant? Are you sure?”

  The doctor laughed. “I’m positive. Blood tests never lie.”

  And then fear trickled in, effectively drowning out any happiness Amy felt. How could she take care of a baby without sight?

  “You don’t look too pleased about the news.”

  Amy crossed her arms over her chest, a move she’d done all her life when faced with insecurities. “It’s not that. I…I’m just worried about the future. My baby will be born to a mother who can’t see and a father who might not…” She couldn’t finish the thought. Zaureth would be okay. He had to be.

  The doctor cleared her throat. “Why don’t you let the nurse help you dress, and we’ll move you over to the hospital, where we can check out this pain in your head?”

  “Okay.”

  Amy waited until the door closed behind the doctor and then slid off the examination table.

  She felt around for her clothes while peeling off the gown she wore.

  The door opened once more, sending Amy swinging around, holding her clothes up in front of her.

  “Here, let me help you with that.”

  Amy recognized the nurse’s voice. “Thank you, Deidra, but I can manage.”

  “Very well, I’m right here if you need me.”

  With a nod, Amy tugged on her jeans, stepped into her running shoes, and then pulled her T-shirt over her head. Her undergarments had been left on during her exam, saving her the embarrassment of exposing herself to the nurse.

  The sound of the door opening once more startled Amy. She adjusted her T-shirt, listening for sounds of Dr. Lynnville.

  A gasp resonated throughout the room, followed by a gurgling noise and something dropping heavily to the floor.

  “Deidra?” Amy called out, her heart thumping in her throat.

  The sound of boots slapping against the floor in the hallway could be heard over Amy’s thundering heart.

  “What the—” Artie growled before his voice was cut off by what could only be described as an explosion.

  It took Amy a second to realize Artie had been shot and another to release the scream now trapped in her throat. “Artieeee!”

  Two more shots rang out in rapid succession, sending Amy blindly scrambling backward.

  Voices abruptly penetrated her panic-filled mind. “Grab her.”

  “Are you sure she’s the right one?”

  “He said the blind one. Clearly, she’s blind.”

  They were there to take her, Amy thought, terrified to her core.

  And then her mind turned toward the news she’d been given not ten minutes earlier. She carried a life inside her…Zaureth’s child. And she would do everything in her power to keep their child safe. “I’ll go willingly. Just please don’t hurt me.”

  Something hard slammed into the back of her head, sending excruciating pain shooting through her skull.

  The last thought Amy had before she lost consciousness was of her unborn baby. “Zaureth…”

  Chapter Eleven

  Zaureth dug in his heels, attempting to hold back the hundreds of Arkadians coming over that rise. But the more power he used, the more insane his mind seemed to become.

  He could have sworn he felt excitement and several other emotions coming from his mate.

  His composure slipped, and some of his focus left the battle in front of him.

  Fire flew through Zaureth’s side, with the penetrating tip of an Arkadian sword.

  His focus had momentarily slipped, and he hadn’t seen the Arkadian make it past his defenses.

  Zaureth roared in pain and more than a little rage.

  He swiveled his head in the Arkadian’s direction, allowing his fury to seep into the warrior’s mind.

  No blood leaked from the blond Bracadyte’s eyes and nose. His head simply exploded on his shoulders.

  Zaureth didn’t have time to dwell on that fact before another row of Arkadians barreled toward him.

  The echo of Tony’s guns continued to resound in Zaureth’s ears. He eased closer to Vaughn’s side, his attention focused on the mob of half-insane warriors currently running toward them.

  Zaureth pushed through the pain of his bleeding wounds, his eyes narrowing in determination. He opened his mouth, allowing his fangs to burst free from his gums, and snarled the Latin word for death. “Mortem!”

  The first row of Arkadians folded at the knees, their heads shattering on their shoulders in a bloody mass of blond hair and brains.

  And on it went, with Zaureth fighting to keep the masses away from his people while protecting Tony and Naura.

  Without breaking his concentration on the invasion in front of him, Zaureth yelled over his shoulder to Vaughn. “Get Naura inside! I will cover you.”

  Tony didn’t answer, but a few seconds later, he appeared in Zaureth’s peripheral, running toward the entrance to Aukrabah with Naura in his arms.

  No sooner did they disappear inside the opening than the king went down.

  “Nooooo!” Zaureth roared, leaping over dead bodies and taking off into a full-on run. He slammed into the back of an Arkadian and then snapped another’s neck before jerking his king up and throwing his great weight over his shoulder.

  Klause groaned in pain, telling Zaureth without words that he still lived.

  Zaureth could relate. His own wounds screamed in agony with every step he took. Especially the huge gash in his side. And he knew it to be huge by the grueling pain and the amount of blood gushing down his hip.

  Reaching the entrance of Aukrabah, Zauret
h practically tossed his king over the back of an ATV and spun around to face the fighting going on in the distance.

  A wounded Marine staggered to his feet, already in the process of reloading his weapon.

  Zaureth had met the man on several occasions. Though he trusted only a small handful of land walkers, he had no choice but to trust this one. The king’s life depended on it.

  Hurrying to the Marine’s side, Zaureth growled, “You will take our king to the belly of Aukrabah.”

  The Marine met and held Zaureth’s gaze before glancing back toward the fighting.

  “Klause needs your help,” Zaureth bit out, spots dancing in his vision. It was only a matter of time before he bled out, and he knew it.

  Without a word to Zaureth, the Marine shoved his weapon into the waistband of his pants and staggered toward the ATV. He threw his leg over the side, started the engine, and sped toward the belly of Aukrabah.

  Zaureth breathed a momentary sigh of relief. The king was out of immediate danger.

  Stumbling on his feet, Zaureth made it to the chiseled wall of Aukrabah’s entrance. He peered down at his side, taking in the gaping hole now spilling his life’s blood onto the rock floor beneath him. He would die if he didn’t do something, and quick.

  But there was nothing he could do at the moment but fight. If he didn’t, the Arkadians would wipe Aukrabah off the map forever.

  Laurel suddenly appeared at his side, her face a mask of fear. “I cannot hide down here, Zaureth. Not while my mate needs me.”

  He glanced toward the hidden room the Bracadyte children hovered in. “Klause is out of immediate danger, my queen. You must go back with the young. They need you.”

  “There are a dozen females with the children. I have ordered them deeper into the belly of Aukrabah. They will not be found. I am going to my mate.”

  Taking in his queen’s somber expression, Zaureth held out his hand. What he was about to do would no doubt infuriate her, but she left him no choice. He couldn’t allow her to die. He wouldn’t. “Then come. I will take you to him.”

  Laurel accepted his outstretched palm, gratefulness shining in her eyes.

  A second later, her eyes rolled back in her head, and her knees buckled beneath her.

  Zaureth swung her up into his arms and carried her safely back to room the others huddled in.

  He laid her gently on a pallet next to Rauneca. “Your queen only sleeps. She is not injured. When she awakens, you will lead her and the others deeper into Aukrabah. I will send someone to fetch you when the fighting has ended.”

  Rauneca only nodded, the strength of a Bracadyte shining in her eyes.

  Zaureth took a painfully deep breath and made his way back to the entrance. He staggered to the opening, locking his mind on the faces of the enemy.

  Pushing into their minds, he took them out one by one as he moved in closer to Gryke. “Where is Braum?”

  Gryke fought like a berserker, his voice coming out in a snarl. “He fights alongside Zyen at the water’s edge!”

  More Arkadians made it over the rise, while others were coming up from behind them.

  Gryke took a knife to the back. His bearded face registered shock before his eyes slid shut, and he dropped heavily to the earth.

  And then, a sound reached Zaureth; a battle cry unlike anything he’d heard before ripped through the fighting taking place.

  Zaureth watched in shock as Fiona ran toward them, wearing her military attire, a gun in each hand and an assortment of weapons strapped on her waist and thighs.

  She shot everything in her path, her horrified gaze focused on her fallen mate.

  “Gryke!” she shouted, blowing the faces clean off every Arkadian within a close enough proximity.

  She suddenly slid, rolling to a stop on top of Gryke’s bloodied form, never taking her finger off the trigger of her handheld weapons.

  And then, the unthinkable happened. Zaureth’s legs gave out. He landed hard on his knees, his breath whooshing out painfully.

  “Zaureth…”

  Was he dying? His precious mate’s voice whispered softly through his mind, calling out to him in desperation.

  Somewhere amidst his exhaustion, Zaureth registered that Amy was in trouble. “Amy!”

  Panic warred with rage, building inside him until a humming formed in the back of his brain. His body began to vibrate, heat built behind his eyes, and a power unlike any he’d known before lit through him like lightning.

  Something akin to a roar ricocheted inside his skull, drowned out by the cry of fury that burst from his lips. His Amy was hurt.

  Zaureth surged to his feet, unable to control the enormous amount of power coursing through his veins. It burst from his body like a sonic boom, taking the surrounding warriors off their feet.

  Arkadians and Bracadytes alike flew through the air in all directions, completely at the mercy of the healer’s power. Nothing mattered to Zaureth in that moment but his mate.

  The sound of human helicopters penetrated Zaureth’s rage-filled brain a second before Brant came sailing through the air and took the healer back to his knees.

  “Get down,” Brant snarled, his body shielding Zaureth’s head.

  No sooner had the words left Brant’s mouth than the thunder of guns exploded through the air. The sound was deafening, echoing inside Zaureth’s ears with enough power to wake the dead elders that had gone on before him.

  The ground vibrated beneath him with the force of a volcano. Zaureth didn’t care. He needed to leave. He had to find his Amy before something happened to her. If it hadn’t already.

  Zaureth threw Brant off his back and rolled toward Fiona. “Where is my mate?”

  She lifted her tear-stained face, the rest of her body covering Gryke’s unconscious form. “Is he…?”

  Placing his palm against Gryke’s side, Zaureth allowed the powerful vibrations inside him to pour over into his fallen brother’s body.

  Gryke jerked as if burned, his lips pulling back over his teeth.

  “What’s happening?” Fiona cried, obviously attempting to be heard over the thunderous noise of the ever-firing choppers.

  Zaureth removed his hand from Gryke’s side and shouted back, “He will live. Where is my mate?”

  Fiona leaned over, cupping her hands on either side of Zaureth’s ear, and gave him directions to the safe house.

  Without bothering to respond, Zaureth surged to his feet and took off in a full-on run.

  The Bracadytes no longer needed Zaureth’s help to defeat the Arkadian army. The human military would take out the remaining warriors on land.

  As for those attempting to infiltrate the Pool of Enlightenment, Kaspyn and Thrasher would destroy them. Of that, Zaureth had no doubt.

  Zaureth’s heart hammered in his chest as he leapt over the fallen and blasted toward the street beyond.

  It occurred to him as he ran that he could have taken an ATV. No, he could make it on foot a hell of a lot quicker than on the human’s device, he thought, sailing over a nearby fence. And he was running out of time; he could feel it in his gut.

  Zaureth ran faster.

  Chapter Twelve

  Amy came awake to the sound of voices. Her head ached, and a painful throb pulsed at the base of her skull.

  She fought a moan, resisting the urge to touch the lump she knew she’d find on the back of her head.

  Someone had hit her.

  Her memory came flooding back with a vengeance. The visit to Dr. Lynnville’s office, the news of her pregnancy. Someone had hurt her nurse, Deidra. Gunshots. The men who’d taken her had shot Artie.

  Amy could no longer hold back her tears. Artie had died trying to protect her.

  “She’s awake,” a man’s voice announced, the sound of his footsteps growing closer.

  An even deeper voice spoke next, effectively stopping the footsteps from coming any closer. “Leave us.”

  For some reason, those two words terrified Amy. Not just the words themselves,
but the way they were spoken.

  She slowly sat up, not wanting to be left alone with the man that voice belonged to. But that was exactly what happened, she realized, as the sound of a door closed somewhere nearby.

  Swallowing her fear, Amy spoke hesitantly. “W-what do you want with me?”

  The stranger softly laughed. “What would I possibly want with a pathetic blind girl?”

  “Then why am I here?”

  “To draw out your alien lover.”

  Amy fought back the fresh tears that threatened and immediately shut down her mind. If Zaureth picked up on her fear, he’d come running.

  That is, if he’s still alive, her mind whispered against her will. He had to be alive! She refused to believe anything else. “My alien lover? You’re mistaken. I have no lover.”

  He struck her across the face, hard enough her head smacked against the wall. She hadn’t even heard him move.

  Amy cried out from the blow, the copper taste of blood filling her mouth.

  She could sense him in front of her. “I’m telling you the truth.”

  He wrapped a hand in her hair, twisting her head to the side. “Do you know what I hate more than your precious Bracadytes?”

  When Amy didn’t answer, he tightened his hold and continued. “Liars. I literally despise a fucking liar, Amy Brighton.”

  He knew her name, which meant he had no doubt who her mate was. “I’m not lying.”

  He straightened, holding her by the hair and jerking her up with him.

  Amy couldn’t hold back the cry of pain that ripped from her throat. She reached up and gripped his wrist with both hands, attempting to disengage his fingers from her hair, to no avail. He only held on tighter.

  His mouth brushed against her ear. “It would really be a shame to have to hurt a little blind girl. My mama raised me better. My father, on the other hand, taught me that a man does what a man must. Even if it’s to little blind girls.” His tongue licked her earlobe.

  Nausea rolled through Amy’s gut at the touch. She jerked back, not caring how badly it hurt her scalp to do so. “Please, stop!”

  He only laughed, spinning her around and pulling her tightly against his body. “You want me to stop? Tell me what I want to know.”