“She’s an impure,” he spat. “Not worthy to breed and produce weaker versions of herself. It would be an abomination to our society!”
And then she knew for sure. This was Zerod, the man who’d murdered her father, and stolen her childhood. For the first time in her life, she wanted to kill someone.
Chapter 13
Rogar hated Zerod with a passion. He killed because it was something he loved to do. But Rogar wouldn’t let Zerod harm Callie, not while there was breath left in his body.
“You killed my parents,” Callie said, stepping from behind Rogar.
Zerod grinned, and walked inside the house. “Only your father. He distracted me long enough for your mother to escape and give birth to you. Then she disappeared. Clever woman. If she isn’t dead, I’ll find her.”
“You bastard!” she hissed.
“I mated with a human, you know,” he said, turning back to Rogar, as though Callie was merely an annoying insect. “It was pleasurable, in its own way, but then I had to kill her, of course. I enjoyed hearing her scream, during both experiences. Watching her die was even more pleasurable.” His eyes glazed.
“You’re sick.” Rogar was disgusted they shared even one drop of the same bloodline. “Someone should have killed you long ago,” he told him.
“But then, you and I know it’s forbidden for one Symtarian to kill another. No excuses. It would mean immediate death to anyone who dared break the king’s law.” He smiled. “I wonder how the king would feel if he had to kill his eldest child. I think it would drive him insane, don’t you?”
Rogar growled from deep in his throat. “Don’t push me or I’ll be tempted to see.”
“I know you too well. Your family is important to you.” Zerod laughed. “I know you hate to admit it, but we are related. Join forces with me.”
“And murder innocents.”
He shrugged. “The impures are a different story. There is no law against killing a half-breed.”
“On New Symtaria maybe, but on Earth we have a different set of laws,” Callie spoke up.
Zerod didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, he stretched his arms out to the side, growling low in his throat. The air grew heavy and damp.
He was changing form, but Rogar knew Zerod well and anticipated his treachery. He and Balam were ready.
“Hide in the bedroom.” He shoved Callie to the side, and closed his eyes, not waiting to see if she obeyed, only praying she would.
His change came seconds after Zerod adopted his guide’s form of the tiger—seconds in which Zerod slashed one claw across Rogar’s thigh. Rogar fell back, kicking out, connecting.
Rogar breathed a sigh of relief, felt the blending of their souls, saw through Balam’s eyes.
Zerod’s animal guide paced, stopped and turned, then launched himself across the room. Balam jumped sideways at the last moment, but not before he slashed the tiger’s muscled shoulder. It screamed in pain, but quickly turned and crouched, then sprang back, knocking into Balam. Balam grunted when he fell against the sofa, his head hitting the wooden rail across the bottom.
For a moment, Rogar was stunned, but Balam recovered quickly, and moved out of the way, anticipating the tiger’s attack. The animal hit the table instead, knocking it over, the lamp crashing to the floor.
The tiger turned, his eyes menacing, spitting anger because Rogar and Balam were still alive to protect Callie. He opened his mouth, and roared his frustration and fury, then ran through the open doorway.
Balam sank to the floor, knowing neither Zerod nor his animal guide would return tonight. The jaguar’s breathing was labored. His wound bled freely.
Fog rolled across the room. Rogar closed his eyes, letting the change take place. When he became himself once again, he was sitting on the floor. He groaned as the burning in his gut was replaced by the searing heat from the wound that stretched across his thigh, from his knee to his hip.
“Rogar, you’re hurt,” Callie said as she knelt beside him. “I need to get something to staunch the flow of blood.”
She was gone before he could say anything. He scooted against the back of the sofa until he could lean against it for support.
“I thought I told you to stay in the other room?” he asked.
She laid a towel across his thigh, pressing against it. He sucked in his breath as pain shot down his leg.
“I have to stop the bleeding.”
“I know.” His energy was quickly draining. “Why didn’t you stay locked in the bedroom?”
“It got too quiet. I figured if you were dead, then I wouldn’t stand a chance anyway. If you were still alive, then you had to be hurt or you would have called out that it was safe.”
She moved the towel. He saw the bleeding had slowed.
“And I was right. You are hurt,” she said.
“A scratch.” He attempted a smile, but couldn’t quite force his lips to curve upward.
“Duh, that’s pretty much a gimmie. It’s the length and depth of the so-called scratch that has me worried.”
He frowned. She was beginning to remind him of his sister, who could be quite annoying at times. But Callie was taking care of him, and that gave him a good feeling.
“I have bandages and gauze. I think you need stitches. Probably a tetanus shot.”
“This will be sufficient,” he told her. She didn’t look convinced. “Symtarians heal faster than other species. Besides, your doctors would ask too many questions.”
“You’re right. It would be kind of difficult explaining you were mauled by a tiger.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“It’s a life worth saving.” He watched as she blushed, then quickly set about bandaging his leg, but the higher she went with the gauze, the more flustered she became. He glanced down and saw the cause of her embarrassment. He was naked. He gritted his teeth and moved his leg, then raised it slightly so she had better access to his wound.
“Yeah, right,” she mumbled, but she placed the bandages over his wound, then began to wrap his leg the rest of the way, careful not to get too close to anything other than his wound.
Her touch was warm and gentle. He rather enjoyed that she was taking care of him. It had been a long time since anyone had done so. He could get used to it. If they had more time, that is, which they didn’t. “We can’t stay here. You’re in danger.”
“I know,” she said.
He clasped her hand, felt the trembles running through her body. “Come back to New Symtaria. You’ll be safe there.”
“I can’t.” She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I know someplace we can go where we’ll be safe.”
“Zerod will still be around, and there are others who believe as he does.”
“That’s why you have to teach me about who I am so I can defend myself.”
