Book 1: Shattered Harmony

Chapter 40: My Heart

Sing for me

Chapter 39

My Heart

Inky had stayed awake for as long as she could, but it was beginning to get late, and cold. She curled up next to Zareth, his body started to warm up again. She crawled over and put her head down on his shoulder. To her amazement his hand reached around and held onto her. In her mind she thought perhaps he thought she was Danny. She fell into a fitful sleep. Anything that moved she woke up and looked around. Finally after a few hours she fully fell asleep.

Thats how Zareth found her once he regained consciousness. He ran his fingers over her cheek and smiled.

"Awe kid...Look at you..." He whispered and lay his head back. The sun was already starting to go down. "Sokay...let ol' Zareth take care of you now." He stood up and picked her up. She moaned and nestled into his arms. "There we go...just get some rest." he looked at her. His blood was everywhere on her. Even her wounded leg had been soaked in it. He heard it first, but it nearly melted his heart. She had begun to hum and sing their song in her sleep. Their song...

'Thats dangerous thinking their Zareth.' Dareth said.

"Oh don't tell me you weren't thinkin it." Zareth grumbled.

'What of Danny?' Zane asked. Dareth shrugged his shoulders.

'We'll just have to see.' Dareth said

'Looks out Zareth!' Zane called out.

Zareth jumped back behind a tree and tried to look as small as possible. He put his forehead to Inkys just in case she woke up he was right there. About six people ran by.

"Fan out! They couldn't have gone far." The man yelled. Zareth growled and pulled off his Kimono top and wound it around Inky to cover the red. At least his top was brown. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Shhhh I need you to stay quiet Inky...stay in these bushes and let Uncle Zareth take care of these bad guys." He kissed her forehead and lay her down. Inkys eyes opened a little as she watched. He had completely disappeared into the brush. She almost panicked wondering if he had left her there. She however found herself watching these men, one by one being pulled into the pushes, pulled up into trees, and the last one calling out to his buddys...being pulled up into the tree using the rope that nearly killed him. Inky felt her tired feverish body being picked up from off the ground. Zareth turned to go pick her up and stopped. His eyes narrowed at the man that had her.

"Sorry Zareth...just business." Ronin said and held a gun to Inkys head. Zareth growled and felt someone grab his arms.

"Ronin...you jerk. Let her go!" Zareth growled.

"Like I said Zareth...business." He laughed handing Inky to one of the other soldiers. "And business is good." He walked off toward Rex.

"Inky?" Zareth called out to her. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath was hot.

"Oh the poor girl." A man walked by running his hand over her head and smiling at Zareth. "Look at all this blood." He looked up at Zareth.

"Its not hers its mine." Zareth growled.

"Oh and their will be more."

"What have you done with Danny?" He growled, his fists coming up.

"Well that will depend on your cooperation...now doesn't it?"

"So...this is...Zareth...?" Zareth looked up to see an incredibly thin woman with black hair. She was in a brightly colored kimono and a fan in front of her face. She looked young, but her eyes said she was old.

"Let me guess...Gaya?"

"My reputation precedes itself?" Her voice was like silk, but her red eyes made Zareth uneasy.

"Not really..." Zareth said. "Spencer was far more scary then you." Her eyes flashed. He felt his brand new pump box close off. He gasped grabbing at his chest.

"Scary...Spencer? She was an excuse. A simple means to a final outcome. Everything so far has been planned. Including the use of Dannys hard drive. Revenge...on the man who killed my father! You were just easier...to kill him."

"Obviously not since he's not dead." Inky mumbled. Zareths pump turned back on and Gaya walked over to Inky.

"Oh look...a shiny new toy." She smiled and ran her fingers over Inkys face. "Poor think..it would look like someones taken a shine to you...Zareth...what do you say...we play with our new toy?" She asked smiling at him. Her teeth...were razor sharp.

"No!" Gaya grabbed hold of Inkys leg and dug her fingers into the wound. Inky screamed. Zareth cried out for her to stop.

"Will you do as we ask?" She asked. Zareth saw the tears running down Inkys face.

"How peculiar...black tears." She smiled. "An elemental master of Ink. It would actually be mercy if we kill her now." She ran her bloodied hand over Zareths exposed chest. "She has about twenty years to live anyways before her whole body just phases into a pile of ink. Its a curse really." Gaya said. Inky felt her heart skip a beat. "Despair will be her downfall." She motioned for them to bring her new prisoners with them.

Inky looked around the concrete room, on a chair near the computer was Danny. Her body was slumped, but hooked up to a machine.

"What did you do to her?" Zareth growled out.

"Nothing...yet. She was so low on energy we had to put her on an external battery or she would have died. I didn't want her dead till I could kill her myself." Gaya smiled. "To bad that...Pixal was always guarded by those ninja."

'Thank goodness.' Zane whispered.

'Yeah thanks.' Dareth grumbled.

Gaya walked up behind Danny and smiled at Zareth. She pulled out a short knife and let it graze over Dannys processer slot.

"One wrong move...and its the end for your little sister...Zane."

"You knew...you knew she was my sister."

"Like I said...it was planned for." Gaya smiled. "The ultimate revenge..enlist the help of your little sister. You know she was designed to work with children...nursing or teacher. She was designed to love children." She smiled up at Zareth. "It would be a pity...if she died!" the evil look in her eyes as she plunged the knife downward.

"NO!" Zareth yelled. The knife hovered above the processor. She smiled up at Zareth.

"Get on the table...like a good dog." Gaya smiled up at him.

"No...Zareth don't..." Inky tried to shake the gag from her mouth.

"Put her somewhere...more her size." Gaya said.

"Don't hurt her either." Zareth called out.

"Oh don't worry...we won't hurt the little bird." Zareth watched them take Inky over to what looked like a tiny bird cage. She was thrown in and hoisted above the lab. He could still see her she crawled over to the edge and put her head on the bars. They were cool to her skin.

"Zareth..."

"Relax Inky...get some rest. Please..." Zareth called to her. She just nodded and put her head down. She couldn't fight it anymore, her head hurt her so much and her leg throbbed. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Now I can get revenge for my father...the Overlord!"