He took most of the banister that went with the staircase with them, but Vicky didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything but the fact that Chain had come for her—that he cared enough to risk his life to save hers and that everything was going to be all right.
Well, maybe.
Because at the sight of his three remaining comrades being cut down, the Varian holding her hissed in anger and tightened his grip on her throat.
“Tell him to ssstop,” he hissed in Vicky’s ear. “Tell him to sstand back or you die!”
“Chain!” Her voice came out choked and hoarse because her captor was barely giving her enough air to breathe, let alone speak.
Chain looked up. The cloak was pushed back from his shoulders now, showing his impressive physique. His broad chest was heaving with anger and his eyes were molten, glowing red.
Vicky stared at him, shocked.
Red eyes? But doesn’t that mean…Oh my God, is he going into Rage for me, like Lizabeth and Kat said?
It seemed that he was. Chain seemed to be working hard to control himself, though, because he spoke in low, measured tones.
“Release my female and I’ll allow you to walk out of here and go back to your own world,” he growled, glaring at the Varian. “That is my best offer.”
“Your offer isss not accepted,” her captor hissed. “Now listen to mine, thief. You will give me the T’lix-Kruthe at once or watch your female die ssslowly before your eyesss.”
As he spoke, one of his long fingers—tipped in a curving nail—rose from her throat and drew a stinging line down the side of Vicky’s face.
Vicky gasped and cried out as she felt warm, slippery blood sliding down her cheek. God, that was going to leave a scar—not that a scar was what worried her. Right now she was a little more preoccupied with the question of whether she would live or die.
“You dare to hurt her? I’ll kill you!” Chain roared. He charged forward and the Varian, who had Vicky by the throat with one hand and was holding her wrists with the other, released her hands and drew his weapon instead. He pointed it at Chain and a deadly bolt of energy flew right at the big Kindred.
Things were so mixed up and confused that at first Vicky was certain the energy bolt had missed Chain. But then the big Kindred clutched at his chest and toppled to the ground at her feet.
“No—NO!” Vicky screamed and kicked back at her captor, who was behind her now. She knew very well that he might shoot her too but at that moment she didn’t care—didn’t give a damn about anything but getting to Chain and seeing how badly he was hurt…or even if he was still alive.
“Let me go!” she screamed, kicking again. This time she seemed to connect with something solid because the alien grunted and released her neck. Finally she was able to get away, though his long claw-like nails left bleeding gashes on her throat.
Vicky didn’t even feel the pain. She knelt by Chain, who was lying on his face. It was a struggle to turn him over—he was so big and heavy. But fear gave her strength and with a mighty heave, she finally managed.
His pale, still face was all the answer she needed to her question.
“No!” She felt her face crumple as tears took her. “No, Chain, no—please. Don’t be dead! Don’t be gone!” she wept.
But Chain’s lifeless body made no answer.
She was so wrapped up in her own grief that Vicky almost didn’t notice that something strange was going on with her captor. What alerted her to the fact was when one of the Varian’s booted feet nudged her.
Looking up, she saw that he was doing a kind of shuffling dance, moving back and forth uneasily on the carpeted hallway.
“No,” he was hissing to himself, his weapon clutched tightly in one seven-fingered fist. “No, no, no!”
But then he seemed to change his mind.
“Oh yes,” he said and his voice sounded different—somehow familiar, Vicky thought as she watched the strange act play out through a prism of tears. “Yes, do it—do it!”
The Varian started to bring his blaster up, then slammed it down again by his side.
“No!” he howled. “I will not do this! NO!”
“Yes you will, you fucker!” the second, deeper voice answered. “You hurt my female and now you’re going to pay!”
For the briefest moment imaginable, the Varian’s eyes went from lizard yellow to pure Rage red. Then he lifted his weapon, pointed it at his own face, and pulled the trigger.
Chapter Forty-two
Vicky screamed as the Varian’s head exploded. Green goo that was probably alien blood and brains rained down around her and it was going to be a miracle if none of that landed in her hair, she thought distractedly.
At first her dazed mind couldn’t tell her what had happened. Why had the Varian blown his own head off?
Then she felt something stirring under her hand.
Looking down, she saw that the hand she had placed on Chain’s chest was moving—was rising and falling with regular, deep breaths.
“Chain?” she whispered, almost afraid to hope. “Chain, are you…are you okay?”
At last his eyes opened and this time they were midnight-blue instead of Rage red.
“Barely,” he said and coughed. Sitting up, he seemed to shake himself, like a man waking up from a nightmare.
“So you only pretended to be shot,” she said, putting it all together. “And instead you used your superpower to jump into the alien’s body and make him shoot himself.”
“My superpower?” He laughed. “Is that what you call it?”
“Well…” Vicky shrugged. “I mean, it does sound like something a superhero could
