Devyn had worn it during the auction. Nearly jumping up and down with my exhilaration, I concentrated a mass of energy between my hands. The air soon swirled and sizzled, growing heavier, denser. My spirit, too, began to burn. Burn, burn. I grimaced, but didn’t stop. When the air held sufficient weight, I used the clustered molecules to lift the necklace from its perch and hover between my hands.
Instantly alarms erupted.
I quickly guided the energy and necklace high above me, and prayed no one looked up. A legion of guards stormed the chamber. They raised spears and blades, and their gazes shot throughout the room. Thankfully, they couldn’t see me.
I cast a longing glance to the dappled pool and raced out the open door, taking the path I’d traveled to get here. All the while, the necklace hovered above me. Along the way I must have navigated a wrong turn, because I didn’t enter the room that held my body. Damn it! I raced onward, rushing into every room I found, rushing past the guards headed toward the necklace room.
Finally—thank God—I found my body. The king and women were gone, but my body was just where I’d left it. I entered quickly and discovered that my muscles were still frozen. The necklace fell from the air and landed on the pillow beside me. If I could move, I could escape amid the confusion. I could hide the necklace.
I just had to move!
I struggled and fought for what seemed an hour, all the while remaining immobile. The king at last remembered my presence and strode back into the room. His amber eyes were narrowed as he knelt in front of me.
“How did you do it?” he asked, the words stilted, halting.
Even my lips refused to move.
“Answer me,” he growled.
I glared up at him and flicked my gaze to my mouth. Realizing I couldn’t speak, he finally released me from the paralysis.
“Do what?” I scooted away from him. The action sent a sharp ache all the way through me.
“How did you steal the torque? My Earth torque is missing, woman, and only you have an interest in it.”
“I’ve been right here.” Hoping I appeared nonchalant, I covered the necklace with my butt. “You saw to that. How could I have stolen anything?”
He reached out, intending to search me. I kicked his chest, and he stumbled backward a few feet. A mere second later, I found my arms and lower body frozen again. Dark fury exploded through my veins. I hated how easily he subdued me.
His hands roved over my every curve and hollow, but he found nothing. His frown deepening, he scooped me up and set me aside. That’s when he saw the gold band. Scowling, he lifted it and shoved it in my face. “How did you get this?” When I remained silent, he added, “I didn’t immobilize your mouth this time. Answer me.”
A wave of helplessness joined my fury, swirling together in an escalating tempest. How could I win against such powerful telekinesis?
The answer hit me with the force of pyre-fire.
I couldn’t fight him like this, but I could fight him another way. Vulnerability be damned. My lips twisted in an evil smile. “Why don’t I show you?”
I centered quickly, and my spirit sprang from my body. In seconds, I was behind him. I focused energy between my hands, then shoved it at him, nailing him in the head. He crashed sideways, but fluidly jumped to his feet. Scowling, he spun away from my body and toward my spirit.
When he failed to see what had hit him, his eyes widened. “What’s going on?”
Next I shot a burst of energy dead center between his legs, hitting his precious penis with enough force to drop him to his knees, groaning in pain. He looked back at my body, then whipped back to search the center of the room.
“How are you doing this?” he demanded.
Now that my emotions had been released, I couldn’t hold back. I gathered clusters of energy and continued to toss them at him. Over and over, with all the fury and helplessness raging inside me. He fell, and I used the thickened air to gather his knife. The sharp blade hovered in the air. As his eyes widened, I inched it closer to his neck.
He stilled, not daring to breathe.
“How does it feel to be helpless against another’s powers?” I taunted. The words were a whisper of wind, but he understood.
He opened his mouth to yell for help.
“Call your guards,” I said, pressing the knife even closer, “and it will be the last sound you ever make.”
His voice gurgled to quiet.
“That’s better.” Keeping the knife steady with one hand, I used my other to gather enough energy and tug off the gold band anchored at his neck.
“The moment you release me, I’ll be able to kill your body. A spirit cannot live without a host.”
“That’s true,” I admitted.
“How long do you think you can hold me like this?”
“As long as it takes. Are you an honorable man, Devyn?”
From the corner of my eyes, I saw him reaching up, intending to grab the knife and throw it away from him.
“Uh, uh, uh,” I said, and pushed more energy toward him, digging the tip a little deeper into his neck. A drop of amber-colored blood formed.
A growl of frustration parted his mouth, but his hands stilled.
“Are you an honorable man?” I asked again.
“Yes, damn you.”
“Then vow to me here and now to send me home at the next solar flare, and I will let you live.”
“No.”
“No? I can kill you now, reenter my body, and escape this place.”
“You would never make it past my guards. They were chosen for their telekinetic abilities, as well as their sadistic natures. When they spot you, and they will, they will make you regret the decision to leave me.”
“I bet you thought I’d never be able to hold a blade at your throat, either.”
Silence.
“You’re not going to kill me,” he finally said. Sweat dripped from his temples. “You’re a woman and a Raka. Your people might be rare, but I know you are peaceful. Sensual. Violence is used only by the ruling class.”
“Maybe I’m part of the ruling class, because you see, Devyn, I’m more than a government agent. I’m an assassin. I’ve killed countless people, and killing you will be no hardship. Why do you think I let EenLi capture me? Why do you think my man was trying to ‘buy’ me? So I could kill EenLi and destroy his slave ring.”
The Targon stiffened.
“I’m willing to let you live, however.” The moment I’d met those women in the cell, my goal had ceased to be proving my own worth or being known as the best. My goal had changed to one of savior. The women, Lucius. And I’d make a deal with the devil himself to do so. “What do you say, Targon? Your life for a ticket home.”