Lawked Flame (30 page)

“
Yes, Mistress Kee.”

“
Why do you smell of my good friend Lorenzo?”
There was a definite bite in her question, and if he did not know
better, he would think she was jealous.

Benicke reddened slightly, but held his ground. “He
is my Kee, we attempted an unlocking and it failed. But there was
an exchange made.”

Alayna snapped back as though she had been struck.
“Lorenzo has found his Lawke? He…he didn’t tell me.”

Khayden frowned over the hurt in her voice.

Obviously, Benicke picked up on it as well. “He has
been, well, we hae been…today is my first time back to work.
Perhaps, he will talk to yeh today.” By now the big man’s face was
a nice cherry red. Leave it to his Kee to reduce the terror of his
army to a stuttering mass.

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh.” She giggled. “It’s
like that, huh? In that case, it’s cool. I’ll call him later if he
doesn’t call me. We have a lot to catch up on it seems.” She
grabbed Benicke shoulders in a loose embrace, giving the shocked
male a surprise. “Be good to him, he's good people,” she whispered,
even though Khayden heard her across the room.

“
Alayna.” His tone recalled her to his side.
Even though he understood humans were a touchy-feely lot, he
intended to be the only one his Kee touched.

Benicke coughed. “Is Royce on ‘is way?”

“
No, not right now. He is cleaning up a mess
in town where he and his team were followed by a group of
Geleets.”

Benicke nodded.

Khayden called Clotho even as he brought Benicke
current. The moment his head Gramier entered, he knew something was
wrong. Dread filled him although he kept his face impassive.

She bowed as she drew closer. “Master Khayden.
Mistress Kee.”

Alayna’s eyes lit. “Hi Clotho, how are you?”

“
I am well, Mistress. Thank you.” The formal
address was not lost on either man. Clotho turned slightly to
Benicke and nodded. He returned her acknowledgment.

“
I have been discussing some new developments
with Benicke. It seems the Gigi have come to this planet and are
using their old tricks.” Although he watched her carefully, she
gave nothing away. “What do you know of this or think about this
new element.”

“
I have just learned the Gigi are here. They
have masked their presence for the past thirty calendar days. The
stench of their depravity has already reached the Good Mother. She
is most displeased.” A flash of pain crossed her otherwise serene
face.

That was not good. Tension slid between his
shoulders. “Does she blame us for their actions?”

Clotho eased. “No. Every person is responsible for
their own actions. However, she demands we fix this problem.”

Frustrated at the constant demands and equal
restraints, he stood, balled fists rested on his desk as he spoke.
“How? Start a war? Blow up their labs? Leave their carcasses in the
street. When we came here, most of our people were stripped of our
basic powers. Only a few can teleport or manipulate the elements.
Our powers are diminished, whereas the Geleets are able to use
their full arsenal.” The walls in the room fluxed and shifted as he
struggled to pull in his rage at the position they were locked in.
The cooling hand of his Kee on his arm tempered his inner flame,
bringing him firmly under control. He covered her hand with his,
securing her to his side. Moments later, he spoke again. “Is she
willing to release some of the constraints she placed on us?”

Clotho hesitated. “Not specifically. She feels you
have everything you need to not only defeat the Geleet, but to
close their portal as well.”

His jaw clenched at her pronouncement. “Did she tell
you a specific game plan since she feels we have the tools? Tools
by the way, I am unfamiliar with.”

Clotho remained steady, although her voice held a
slight tremor. “No. No, she did not.”

His fist slammed atop his desk just as Alayna’s
device rang. He moved away from the desk, allowing her privacy,
even though he could hear both sides of the conversation. What he
heard chilled him. He turned slowly and watched Alayna write down
the address of the hospital where her father was with her fake
mother.

“
Daddy, I’ve been trying to remember Aunt
Tildy’s second son’s name, but can’t. You remember?” She bit her
lower lip as she waited and closed her eyes tight. “Right, I don’t
know why I keep calling her Tildy. Yeah, that’s the one. Okay, I’ll
be there shortly.” She inhaled and turned to meet his gaze. For a
moment he forgot to breathe. Did she really just volunteer to walk
into that hospital room, knowing her mother was not there? Knowing
the Geleet were using a decoy? Did he not just explain all this to
her? With a wave of his hand, he enclosed them in a bubble. She
glanced around, swallowing hard, and then straightened as he
stalked closer to the desk.

“
Tell me I am wrong.”

She cleared her throat and met his stare.
“About?”

He growled, uncaring of her fast blinks. “No games,
Alayna. Did you just agree to walk into a room with a Geleet
decoy?”

“
That was my daddy, Khayden.” Her lower lip
trembled as her eyes begged him to understand.

He could not comprehend such willfulness. “You are
my Kee and the mother of my son. Does that not matter? Does it lack
weight? You would risk our son's life to walk into a room of vipers
for your father?” He tried to mask his hurt, wanting her to choose
him and his son on her own volition, but he had to know where he
stood in her pecking order.

“
Yes it matters, and no, I wouldn’t take that
risk. Never.” She inhaled as she clasped her palms together. “I
never planned to walk anywhere alone. I’m banking on you at my
side. I can’t imagine anyone getting the best of you. You once said
it was almost impossible to kill you. But I think they’ll
eventually do something bad to my dad if I don’t get him out of
there. I figure we can kill two birds with one stone.”

To her credit, she did not resort to tears, although
he sensed she was close to releasing the waterworks. He knew she
hated that and blamed the pregnancy. “You think I would allow you
anywhere near a horde of Geleets?”

Her spine stiffened and her eyes narrowed as she
stepped from around the desk, taking great strides until she was
standing in front of him. “Let me make this damn clear right now,
Master Lawke. You can take me with you or I will follow on my own.
I’m not your child or one of your minions. You will not talk down
to me or treat me as if I were a piece of fragile china. Now,
either you accept that fact I’m who you say I am, or fuck off. I
don’t have time for these games.”

Anger rose swift within him. The walls of the bubble
popped as he stared at her. “And you need to bring your anger in
check. Do not ever blow up at me again. I mean that.”

She turned, walked to the desk, picked up the paper
with the hospital's address, and then headed toward the door.

Stunned, he had watched her utter profanities
against his position of Master Lawke. Make unheard of demands of
who he is, and threatened to leave him. All in the same breath. He
closed the door before she reached it. The tapping of her foot rang
out in the quiet of the room.

“
Clotho and Benicke, I will recall you in a
moment.” He winked them out of the room as he turned to face the
irritating woman glaring at him across the room.

“
What is wrong with you? Is it the pregnancy?”
Perhaps there was an underlying reason for her blatant disrespect
and disregard of his motives. No one had ever spoken to him in that
manner. Never. He could not digest it.

She shrugged. “Maybe. Not that it changes
anything. I meant what I said. I’m not going to tolerate you or
anyone telling me what they will
allow
me to do.”

He leaned against his desk and crossed his ankles.
“I am Master here. My word is and has always been law. There is
system in place that must be followed—”

“
Not by me. I’m here by invitation. I stay
because I want to be with you. Your word is law to
Lawkmerians.”

His eyes narrowed. “You are my Kee.” He could not
abide her downplaying her importance in his life.

“
Tell me, what does that mean in situations
like this? I’m supposed to stop thinking for myself and just go
along with everything you say? What if I disagree?” She wrapped her
arms around her waist, glaring at him as though he had done
something wrong. He had done nothing but try to protect
her.

“
Of course I do not expect you to stop
thinking, but you must hear my words as well. I have more
experience in these matters than you.”

“
Not in dealing with humans or how families
interact.”

Nor did he have any real desire to know that
information. “True. But I cannot allow anyone to hurt you. It goes
against who I am.”

She sighed and dropped her arms to the side. He
hoped that was an indication she was ready to listen.

He continued. “You mistake my words. You feel I do
not treat you as your position dictates. You believe this is some
sort of game I am playing when I demand you are kept safe at all
times?” The heat of his anger flashed to the fireplace, and
immediately a fire leapt onto the stacked wood.

She rolled her eyes, incensing him further. She
challenged his authority at every turn. Energy soared within him;
his skin itched with unused power.

This woman had no idea who he was or what he was
capable of. “I control the life forces of every Lawkmerian. They
live or die at my thought. I cannot afford to have my authority
undermined.”

She scoffed. “Undermined? Really. I simply told my
father I was coming to see my mother. I know she’s not there, but
he is. It is unacceptable to me for him to remain in danger, even
if you don’t give a damn.”

His jaw tightened. He did not care that her
sire was in danger to the same degree she did, but that gave her no
right to disobey him. If she did not relent, he would…he
would…what? The thought sobered him as they locked gazes. She had
no fear of him, no matter what he was capable of. She was
not
connected to him in the same
manner of the other Lawkmerians.

His heart raced at the realization that there was
little he could do to make her bend to his will. Even when they
fully bonded, she would always maintain some type of autonomy. How
could they work together when they disagreed so strongly? What
would happen to his people? Things had always gone his way. He
accepted wise counsel, but in the end the final decision was his.
As Master, he bore the weight of responsibility for the well-being
of his people alone. It was a heavy task. One he had often wished
was not his. Did having a Kee add to his problems? Or lighten his
load? He was uncertain, but one thing he knew emphatically, and
that was his need for this woman. The idea of losing her left him
cold inside.

After a brief silence, he looked at her. Displeased
when she averted her eyes. “You are wrong. I have great respect for
you and have never shown you otherwise. You are asking me to be
someone other than who I am when you threaten to leave me over the
issue of your well-being.” He moved toward her and then stopped a
few feet before her. “Your care will always take precedence over
everything else. I can do no less.”

Inhaling deeply, she moved forward and met him. “I
know. But you’ve got to tone down the commanding stuff. It sounds
like you’re treating me as a child, even if that’s not your intent.
I’ll walk with you, but I cannot walk behind you or allow you to
step on me like a doormat. I will never deal with that again.”

“
Believe me when I say I do not see you as a
child. I see you as my woman, totally and completely. If that is
the conclusion you came to, I apologize. It was never my intent.”
She rose on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. A curl of
lust unfurled in his lower regions. He groaned at the inappropriate
timing.

Leaning back, he cupped her face between his palms
and stared down at her. “We must display unity before our people.
If you disagree with me, or feel we should take another direction,
I will welcome a discussion held privately, or through our mental
link once it is formed.”

She nodded. “I agree. But just for clarity, I kept
the conversation private, you burst the bubble which allowed them
to hear what we were talking about.”

“
But they could see your actions. Trust me,
when you walked up on me, locked jaw and narrow-eyed, no one needed
to hear your words to know you were speaking rudely to me.” He bent
and pecked her lips.

“
Okay, point well taken. I apologize about
that. While we’re clearing the air, I don’t like it when you get so
angry stuff starts moving. It feels as though you’re waving a fist
at me or something threatening.”

He stepped back, checking to see if she were
serious. She was. “You were never afraid, even when I lost control
for those few seconds.”

Her brow furrowed. “No…no, I wasn’t. Hmmm, I hadn’t
thought about that. But that’s beside the point. The point is, you
shouldn’t threaten me, ever. And that’s what that room pulsing
thing felt like.”

“
No. The flip-side of being an unlocked Master
is the increased power. Understand this, no Lawke is ever halfway
unlocked like I am. This is new and I am dealing with increased
energy and power from within myself, and increased power from my
people.” He glanced at her, pleased to see she was listening
carefully. "No Master Lawke has ever handled all the energy of his
people without his Kee. She would be a conduit as well, taking the
overload from him."