Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) Read Online Free Page A

One, that you were
to claim your bride immediately.”
    Six frowned. “I merely wished to
familiarize myself with some of the Earth customs first. I was told that I
might appear… frightening to the female I am here to claim. I thought maybe if
I came aboard I could get some insight into her society and—”
    “Yes, yes… frightening .” Chancellor
Terex sounded almost gleeful at the prospect. “You are a big male and
the metal hand and the red ocular implant are a nice touch.”
    “Excuse me?” Six was confused. It almost
sounded as though the Chancellor was hoping he would frighten the girl he had come for. But that wasn’t logical—was it?
    “I don’t want you aboard the Mother Ship,”
the Chancellor continued, frowning. “You’re to go to Earth and claim your bride
at once—do you understand? Then you will take her back to Zeaga Four and spend
your entire Claiming Period there.”
    “But that is part of what I wish to
learn,” Six protested. “No Dark Kindred has claimed a bride in centuries. I do
not know the rules of the Claiming Period although I do know if I
somehow unknowingly violate those rules, the Claiming Period can be instantly
terminated.”
    “Hmm, yes. You make a good point. It
wouldn’t do to have the Period end too soon…” The Chancellor frowned and looked
down, as though deep in thought. At last he looked up. “Very well, I will send
you a copy of the Claiming Period rules. A very detailed copy which I
will expect you to obey to the letter. You must not, under any circumstances
omit any of the Claiming steps. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
    “You do.” Six nodded. “May I ask,
Chancellor—it’s clear you are the one who contacted One and initiated this
sequence of events. In what way does it benefit you for me to take this female
from her home planet?”
    Chancellor Terex scowled. “That is none of
your concern, warrior. Keep your mind on your business which right now is
claiming your bride. Take her as soon as possible and do not do anything to
compromise your Claiming Period—am I clear?”
    “Perfectly,” Six said blandly.
    “Good. Then get to it! I am transmitting
the Claiming Rules to your coordinates now in both the Kindred native dialect
and English. I suggest you print them out so that you can refer to them as
often as you need to. Share them with your bride as well…” He gave a laugh that
was both cruel and amused. “She might as well know what she’s getting into…what
she can’t get out of.”
    Six frowned. He was no judge of emotions
but the High Chancellor seemed to be acting…strangely. Did he find the idea of
Mei-Li feeling trapped by their Claiming Period amusing?
    Surely not. I must be misreading his
emotional signals because I have no emotions myself and no point of reference
for them.
    “What about when the Claiming Period is
over?” he asked. “I certainly will not keep this female with me. She will
doubtless wish to go back to her home world and, as we will not be bonding, I
will have to allow her to go.”
    “Then let her come home…home to Earth.” Chancellor
Terex’s lips stretched into a too-wide grin that showed his double fangs
menacingly. “Let her tell her story of how she was stolen away to a strange,
hostile world by a warrior who was more machine than male. How she was kept
locked away and ravaged though she begged for mercy…”
    Six could no longer listen to such talk.
    “Excuse me, Chancellor, but I have no
intention of brutalizing or frightening the little female. In fact, it was my
wish not to hurt or frighten her that prompted me to request docking
privileges in the first place.”
    “I told you, that request is denied!”
snapped Chancellor Terex and for a moment, Six could have sworn that his pale
blue eyes turned a burning red.
    He normally didn’t argue with a superior
but Six was beginning to be uneasy about the entire situation. It wasn’t an
actual emotion, he told himself—more of a sense of