Page 18 of Forbidden

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Kahn looked into the eyes of his half uncle as his father pronounced his judgment. Absolutely nothing. Mikkril gave away nothing of what he thought or felt. It wouldn’t be like Mikkril not to try something violent. No man who had so brutally murdered children would go quietly to his death.

Anna clutched her child and seemed to turn her concentration to the sleeping boy, kissing the back of his neck as his head lay on her shoulder. Mikkril lunged for her, but she didn’t turn to face him until it was too late.

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Anna!Kahn’s voice inside her head snapped her to attention. Mikkril was almost upon her. With one mighty lunge, the evil man grabbed for her. Anna tried to swing away from him, putting herself between Mikkril and Alex, but her movement was too late. Mikkril had already gained a solid hold on Alex and her momentum only served to rip her child from her arms.

Her anguished shriek filled the hall and she threw herself at Mikkril but he was ready for her attack. He backhanded her as she approached, once again using her momentum against her. With a battle cry he darted up the steps toward the back of the hall, Alex, now awake and screaming in fright, tucked under one arm.

Heedless of the pain that exploded through her skull, Anna scrambled up the steps after him, her only thought to get to Alex. An arm around her waist restrained her, and she fought it like a wildcat.

“Let me go! Alex!” she screamed over and over, a mad, hysterical scream. It was just like the nightmare she’d lived for over two years. In her dreams, she was never able to get to her son.

“Please, madam. Let the general take care of this.” She didn’t know this man, but he was wearing the uniform of the Gothe’maran. Anna looked around her and saw that Kahn and Kerrek were both racing after Mikkril along with a host of soldiers.

Kahn, please save Alex.She willed him to hear her. She wasn’t yet as sure of the bond as Kahn was but put all her faith in it and in Kahn.

She stilled. Trust Kahn to save Alex? Did she? Only a couple of hours ago she thought she would likely never trust Kahn with Alex’s life. She had to get to Alex, no matter what. No matter who was trying to get him back for her. She would not lose him again!

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Kahn raced down the back steps into the bowels of the great hall, his father just behind him. Mikkril might not live long enough for that long, painful death he had coming. How Mikkril thought stealing Alex would help him he had no idea. Maybe a quick death was what he wanted. Kahn growled as he tried to devise ways to take out Mikkril without harming Alex. The trick was to get Mikkril close. Kahn had to make sure he either had a clear view of him or that Mikkril put the child down. Anything else would put Alex’s life in jeopardy and that was something Kahn would not even consider.

Destabilizer in hand, Kahn rushed through the dimly lit passageway, listening for any sound that might indicate which way Mikkril was headed. When he stopped at an intersection, his father stopped at his side. “Do you hear the child, Kahn?”

“No… wait!” Kahn tilted his head. “There. A muffled cry. Left.”

Without another word, both men sprinted down the hall as quiet as the warriors they were. It didn’t take long before they could hear more.

“Are you sure taking the Earth whelp was a good idea?” Darkin. For him to be there so fast, this had to have been planned.

“It was the only way I could be sure I’d make it out of the hall alive. Kahn would never risk hitting a child, no matter what race it is.” Mikkril’s voice oozed contempt.

“Its cries will lead them right to us. You’re a fool, old man!”

“So… silence… it!” Mikkril hissed through his teeth.

Kahn rounded the corner just as Darkin raised his own destabilizer and aimed it at the now screaming infant.

“NO!” With a battle cry he fired at Darkin, hitting him square in the chest. The man howled in agony, his clothing burning away, then his flesh. In moments, Darkin was nothing more than a pile of ash.

Behind Kahn, Kerrek fired at Mikkril but his shot went wide and was absorbed by the wall. Mikkril shot at Kahn, just missing his head, as he snatched up the child and sprinted down the corridor. He had to get to Mikkril before he made it to the spaceport just outside the Judgment Hall. If that happened, he would lose Mikkril in the crowd.

Fortunately, someone had thought of that. Mikkril had just reached for the door adjoining the spaceport when it burst open to reveal about twenty warriors. Caught, Mikkril turned around and looked at Kahn.

“You have me, Kahn,” he said, menace dripping from his every word. “But I have the Earth bastard. Guarantee me safe passage out of the empire and I’ll spare its life.”

“I cannot do that. You have been fairly tried and sentenced.” Kahn’s voice was hard, but reasonable. “Have the honor in death that you forsook in life.”

“Will the little Earth bitch forgive you when she finds out you could have saved her son?” He sneered. “I bet she won’t be so accommodating between the sheets. I’m doing a service to the empire by getting rid of both of them. You could have never taken her to mate anyway. The people would not stand for it.”

“Your words are for nothing, Mikkril. I will kill you, the child will live, and Anna will be my mate and the future queen of Gothe’mar. There is no other option.”

“There are always other options!” Mikkril was obviously losing his control. Kahn knew he had to do something fast or Alex was as good as dead.

“Not this time.” Kahn fired.

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