With one fist, Nykyrian picked his brother up from the floor and hurled him across the table. Serving ware shattered and scattered, the icy tinkling sound mimicking the coldness consuming him.

Nemesis was awake and demanded to be appeased.

Nykyrian pulled Jullien off the floor by his neck. "Where is she?"

Jullien tried to claw Nykyrian's hand from his throat. Nykyrian tightened his grip. He wanted to see the fat weasel crawl. "Your life hinges on how fast you answer me, you bastard!"

Two of Jullien's guards moved toward them.

Nykyrian switched his blaster to stun and shot them before they could get near him and the fat slob he dangled from his fist like a frightened gimfry. Nykyrian looked at his parents to see if they would interfere. They just stared at him as if he were an animal. So be it. Kiara was all that mattered to him. To hell with anything else. Nykyrian clicked the blaster to kill and held it under Jullien's chin.

"Answer me, or the next sound you hear will be your brains hitting the wall behind you."

Sweat covered Jullien's pudgy jowls. "Aksel has her. I don't know where he's taking her."

Shock at his unexpected answer was the only thing that saved Jullien's life. Numb, Nykyrian released him. The room seemed to tilt. Aksel has her, the words echoed in his mind like a forgotten nightmare.

His father reached out to touch him. Nykyrian moved away with a snarl. He glared at his father with all the hatred scorching, blistering his soul.

"She's the only reason I came tonight," Nykyrian said, narrowing his eyes at his father.

"If something happens to her, I want you to know I'm coming back for Jullien, and when I finish with him there won't be enough left to flush."

Spurred by his agony and rage, Nykyrian left his parents standing next to his brother, watching him with disappointed eyes. To Hell with them. Let them comfort Jullien. Hedidn't need their love. He didn't need anyone or anything except Kiara.

Nykyrian pushed the bell at Jayne's house. He wiped the tears falling down his cheeks, stunned he would cry now. All the times he had been beaten, wounded, and cursed not one tear had ever fallen. Now he couldn't seem to stop them.

He would gladly trade his life for Kiara's. Whatever it took, he would see her safe.

Jayne opened the door, then stood back, her mouth falling open. Nykyrian disregarded her shock, no longer caring who saw how much the tiny dancer meant to him.

"Aksel has Kiara," Nykyrian said in a ragged, hate-filled voice.

Darling and Caillen came to their feet from the couch. Jayne pulled him into her house and pushed him toward the kitchen table. Dazed, Nykyrian sat in the first chair he reached. Nothing seemed real. It was all like a terrifying nightmare.

He looked at Caillen. "Did you find out anything more about Rachol?"

"He's with my sisters, but I don't know where."

Nykyrian nodded, wishing Rachol were there to help plan this damned thing. His emotions were too tangled. He couldn't think straight. All he could think of was Kiara.

Nykyrian ran his hands over his face, his tears finally stopping. "Darling, I need you to get those disks you picked up from Rachol, along with the ones I got from Driana. With any luck- "

The bell sounded again.

For the second time that night, Nykyrian's world spun. Driana stood outside, clutching Thia to her breast, the child wrapped in a bloodstained blanket. The side of Driana's face was swollen and red.

"He's gone crazy," Driana said, holding Thia tightly.

Nykyrian shot out of his chair and crossed the room to see if his daughter were still alive, his heart lodged painfully in his throat as his fear tripled.

Nykyrian pulled the blanket back and let out a fierce curse. Thia was covered in more bruises than her mother. She turned her little head to look at him, but couldn't open hereyes for the bruises.

"I didn't think he'd stop beating her," Driana said, then broke off into heavy sobs.

Gingerly, Nykyrian pulled his daughter to him and rocked her. He was going to kill Aksel tonight.

"It's all right," he said to Thia, swallowing the wave of tears gathering in his throat. "No one's ever going to hurt you again."

Hadrian, Jayne's husband, came forward to take Thia. "I'll take care of her."

Nykyrian was immobilized by the turbulent state of his emotions. As much as he had hated in the past, nothing had ever prepared him for this burning ache in his soul that begged for appeasement.

Reluctantly, he released Thia to Hadrian, knowing Hadrian would be able to tend her injuries.

"Where is he?" Nykyrian asked Driana.

"He's gone to his base on Oksana. He thinks he's safe there."

"And Kiara?"

"She's with him."

Nykyrian's lip curled into a snarl. He motioned for Darling, Jayne and Caillen to come with him. They would get Hauk, and before the end of the night, he would put an end to Aksel, one way or another.

Kiara strained against the manacles holding her hands above her head against the wall.

She had to get free! She met Aksel's gaze from where he sat across the room with two of his men, gambling to see who would be the first to rape her. A knowing smile curved his lips before he doubled his bet.

Kiara looked away. Her heart pounded as she struggled against the chains. She had to get away from him.Aksel looked up once more from his card game and again leered at her, seeming to delight in the way she fought helplessly against her binders. Kiara shivered.

She prayed for release, but she also prayed for Nykyrian not to come near this place to save her. One too many times, Aksel had told her what he wanted to do to her husband.

If he captured Nykyrian, Aksel would torture him to death.

Kiara couldn't understand such an intolerable hatred, and after being with Aksel, she was sure she would never ask him to find out why. The man was totally bended.

The door behind Aksel opened. Kiara looked up to see Driana entering, her face red and swollen. Driana met her gaze and Kiara saw the sympathy in the blond woman's eyes.

"Aksel, I need to speak with you. Alone."

Aksel curled his lip. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a game here?"

Driana moved forward with determined steps and upturned the table. She leveled a rifle at Aksel's head. "Tell them to leave."

Aksel's twisted laughter filled the room. "Sure. Boys, if you'll excuse us, my wife," he mocked at the title, "would like to say a few words to me."

Kiara swallowed the lump in her throat and watched as the two soldiers walked from the room, their own laughs trailing behind them as they said something in a language Kiara couldn't understand.

Aksel leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest as he watched his wife, his confidence all too apparent. "What is it you want, dumpling?" Despite the endearment, Kiara didn't miss the raw hatred and threat in his voice.

"No one hurts my baby and lives," Driana snarled. "I'm going to kill you, you giakon. "

She clicked back the hammer on the rifle.

Aksel moved so fast, Kiara barely saw his arms uncoil from his chest before he had the gun out of Driana's hands. "You stupid harita," he said, jabbing the stock into her stomach.

Kiara cringed in reflex. Driana slumped to the floor, clutching her middle as she cried out in pain.He pulled Driana up by the hair. "Where's Thia?"

Driana glared at him and even from her distance across the room, Kiara recognized the hatred burning in the blue eyes. "I gave her to her father."

Aksel's chest pulsated with his deep, angry breaths as he looked up at Kiara. "The hybrid?" he screeched.

Kiara winced at the tone, unable to believe a man could make it.

"Yes," Driana said. "He was a better man and lover at sixteen than you'll ever be!"

Aksel lifted the stock up and brought it down across Driana's back with a dull, heavy thud. Driana screamed, falling to the floor. Kiara buried her head in her arms and tried to block out the sound of the blows that followed in rapid succession. Finally, Driana's screams stopped. Kiara raised her head and saw Driana lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Her stomach twisted. For a moment, she thought she'd be sick.

Aksel walked toward her like a prowling lorina. He tossed the blood covered rifle onto the overturned table.

Aksel's eyes were a stormy gray as he raked his gaze over Kiara's body and curled his lips back like the sight of her disgusted him. "Did Nykyrian ever tell you how they train assassins for the League?"

He was mad! Kiara stared at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend his friendly tone after what he had just done to his wife.

Aksel reached out a cold hand and touched her cheek. "They take you for three months and keep you isolated," he continued, disregarding her attempts to pull away. "You're sent into holo-rooms where they play your worst fears over and over again until you no longer fear anything."

His fingers traced the line of her chin. Kiara shivered, wishing she could do something other than stand before him in helpless expectation.

Having no other recourse, she spit at him. A smile curved his lips at her reaction. He wiped his cheek, his eyes never wavering from hers.

As if she hadn't done a thing, Aksel continued talking in that eerie, deadpan voice.

"They only feed you raw meat and while you eat it, they play tapes of dying victimsbegging for their lives."

He held his hand out in front of her face. Kiara took a step back, the wall blocking her retreat.

"With this hand, I could rip your throat out." He snatched her closer to him and placed his hand over her neck. Kiara waited for him to demonstrate his point. But he didn't.

Instead, his cold voice droned on, "The hybrid could tear out your heart with his bare hands. Does that excite you?"

"You sicken me!"

Aksel gave her a twisted smile, his hand stroking her cheek. "Did Nykyrian tell you he killed two instructors before he finished training? He did, you know." His hand fell away and he turned her to face him, his hands resting on her hips. "He was always better at killing, but I was the one who enjoyed it the most!"

His laughter rang out, chilling Kiara.

"Nykyrian would sit for hours after a mission, staring into space, feeling guilty," he sneered the word like it was the worst thing imaginable. "I was a true warrior. I went out afterwards celebrating my glory."

His hands tightened around her waist. Kiara bit her lips, wanting someway to strike out at him.

"So why did my father brag about his half-bred foundling?" Aksel snarled, his face a mask of contorted rage. "It wasn't my kills he talked about with pride. It was always Nykyrian's. Always Nykyrian's!"

Kiara cried out as his hands bit into her flesh.

Aksel shoved her back against the wall with a solid thud that knocked her breath from her. He leaned his body against hers and she could feel his desire bulging against her stomach. Sweat beaded on her body as Kiara feared his next move. He ripped the top of her dress open. Kiara screamed, struggling against him in desperation.

"I should take you now," Aksel said in a ragged whisper, running his hand over the top of her corslet, oblivious to her cringing. "But I won't. That wouldn't be any fun." He stepped back and smiled at her. "When the hybrid comes for you, I have a special placefor him to watch me rape you. Then you can watch me cut off pieces of his body until there's nothing left but his ear which I shall gladly give to you as a token to remember him by."

"You're insane!" Kiara said, kicking out at him with her legs.

"I've never known an assassin who wasn't," he said with a laugh, then strolled casually out of the room.

Sobs racked Kiara's body. She pulled against her chains, but all she succeeded in doing was tearing the flesh off her wrists. There had to be some way she could escape. Some way she could warn Nykyrian.

Fervently, she prayed for an answer.

Fifteen.

Nykyrian and Caillen sat in the council room of the OMG's base, reviewing data about Oksana. Hauk paced the floor behind them, his boots clicking an eerie beat against the porcelain floor that ate at Nykyrian's tolerance. Jayne and Darling sat across the room, listening to him and Caillen argue battle procedures.

Nykyrian clenched his teeth in frustration, sat back in his chair and stared at the statistic sheets in front of him. A frontal assault would end in complete annihilation, and a covert attack was almost as risky. Aksel's men knew each other well enough to spot a stranger immediately. At this rate, they'd never get Kiara out alive.

Caillen sat back in his chair, a smile spreading across his face as he drummed his fingers against the table. "You know, I've been making deliveries to Netan Raananah. If I were to fake a shipment to him, I could smuggle you guys into Aksel's base."

Nykyrian frowned. "How could you get us through the scanners?"

Caillen tilted his chair back on two legs and put his hands behind his head, that cocky grin Nykyrian despised, breaking across his face. "You're going to regret everything nasty you've ever said about my ship. The Malta is equipped with special jammers no system in existence can pick up on. They'll have to do a personal inspection to verify my cargo." He laughed. "Remember guys, I am a third generation smuggler!"

Hauk snorted. "Yeah well, once we're in, they're not going to just let us sail right back out. The Malia is too fragile and slow to outrun a fighter."Caillen rubbed his jaw as he thought about Hauk's words. "Her cargo hold will carry two fighters, plus passengers."

Nykyrian nodded in agreement. This was the first plan they had come up with that stood even a breath of a chance. "That's it, then."

Darling cocked his eyebrow at Nykyrian. "Aren't you forgetting something? How do we get out once we're in there?"

Nykyrian studied Darling's face. A million thoughts passed through his mind. "It's me they want. You and Caillen will stay on board the Malia and monitor Aksel's men and the base's corridors. Hauk will grab Kiara, get her inside his fighter, and take her to safety. Jayne will be waiting to cover them once they're out of Oksana's orbit."

"And what about you?" Hauk asked roughly.

"I'm bait. I'll fly out in the opposite direction with my fighter. The bulk of Aksel's troops will follow me." Nykyrian narrowed his eyes at Hauk. "You will not engage any fighter at any time. You will keep your engines full throttle. Let Jayne take care of whatever follows you."