Commissioned In White (Art of Love Series) (24 page)

This is a mistake Liam
, Malachi chastised.
I am to be put into warriors, used to fell armies, used to vanquish legions of evil. Why do you dishonor the sacred contract? There is no redemption for me in this enlightened female
.

“It’s either go into Ania Looren or into the amulet, demon. If Ania dies, I will lock you away and drop the amulet into the volcanoes on Terris so that you will never be found again by any creature,” Synar said sincerely. “You can truly spend eternity in a fiery pit like many spiritual beings fear doing. Your spirit will not die, but you will never live in a host again either.”

Malachi hovered, flexed, and finally acquiesced. His tie to Liam Synar and his family exceeded his power to deny his current master. Cursing the creators of all once more, he resigned himself to a dreary existence in a female for a while. Malachi pulled his mist form together more tightly.

I hear and will do all that you command
, he vowed, disappearing quickly into the body of the female while Synar turned his head away until it was done.

Moments later, Ania’s eyes fluttered open and Synar let out a ragged breath of relief that he hadn’t been too late to save what was left of her. “Ania—are you still with me? Help is on the way.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“We were attacked by an enemy. The weapon was fortunately not set to kill instantly,” Synar said. “You are severely wounded, but I believe you will survive.”

“Is everyone safe now?” Ania asked.

“Yes—but I fear this is not the end of it. I must leave you and go seek those that did this to make sure they will not do so again,” Synar said sadly. “You will be safe with your family. I will come back for you when I am done.”

“We just mated, Liam. Take me with you. I’ll heal on the ship,” Ania demanded.

“I can’t put a high-level Peace Alliance ambassador at so much risk,” Synar said, stroking her cheek, wanting nothing more than to do just as she demanded. “Heal while I am gone. Let your family care for you. Serve your planet until I return.”

Synar bent to brush her lips with his. “I know you don’t like kissing, but I need to reassure myself that you live.”

“I must be getting used to it,” Ania said, struggling to return the pressure of his mouth. “I didn’t mind that kiss at all.”

“Help is coming shortly. Let them repair your body. You will be weak for a while, but soon this will be nothing more than a bad memory,” Synar said.

When she didn’t answer, Synar realized that she had fallen into the healing sleep of the demon. Malachi was already working on her. Now Synar had other things to do to make Malachi’s efforts count.

Dorian came back shortly and found Liam and Ania still on the floor. “Help is on its way. They were afraid to come back inside. How is she?”

Ignoring Dorian’s concerned question, Synar raised his gaze to his friend’s face.

“We are taking the bodies of Jonas and the Pleiadian male Malachi went into earlier with us. Put both on the shuttle and take them to the ship before you come back for me. I will explain later. I will register the body we are stealing as host to my demon now. Then we are going to release the killer we captured and send him back to warn Conor that I’m going to be actively searching for him. If we check, I bet we discover Conor is no longer confined to the planet he was exiled to,” Synar said stiffly.

“Is the Pleiadian male joining our crew once the demon reanimates him?” Dorian said, the words distasteful, but the truth often was.

“No—the Pleiadian male will not be reanimated,” Synar said quietly. “The body is a ruse to fool Conor. I have given Malachi a more noble assignment.”

Dorian looked at Ania’s body then, seeing the energy signature but not wanting to believe it. “She was dying, Liam. Ania was prepared for that. Why did you stop her death? Do you know how much she would disapprove of what you have done?”

“Ania might have been ready for her death, but I wasn’t,” Synar said tightly. “It is done and I will not be changing it. I chose to tell you only because I need your help.”

Dorian saw Ania’s lashes flutter open at the same moment he heard help finally running in to their aid.

“Dorian—I forget sometimes how tall you are. It’s like looking at a mountain to see you from the floor. This sure hasn’t happened in a very long time,” Ania teased.

Despite his beliefs and his sense of foreboding about what Liam had done, Dorian smiled at his teacher and friend with great relief. She remained herself so far. He hoped that would always be true.

“I have never forgotten a single moment of my training at your hands,” Dorian said, smiling down at her.

Ania laughed, but it hurt to do so. Then she felt her eyes closing again. With a tired sigh, she entered the blackness calling to her.

Several healers rushed to them, and Synar slipped out of their way. He stood and looked up at Dorian. “Well?”

“I will help you,” Dorian said at last, thinking that he didn’t want Ania to die either. No matter how much the demon clashed with his beliefs, her death didn’t feel destined in that moment either. “May the creators forgive us both.”

“Pray all you want for forgiveness, but I don’t need any,” Synar said firmly. “I have no regrets.”

“Let’s hope that remains true,” Dorian said. “You go with Ania and see to her. I will take care of the rest.”

Synar nodded and followed the medical transport bed out of the building.

*** *** ***

After they were gone, Dorian walked over to the dead Pleiadian Liam had indicated, lifting him easily despite the dead male’s bulk. He cringed knowing his uniform would be ruined after this and need to be replaced. He didn’t want to even think about how messed up his energy was going to be.

Why had he promised to go along with something he knew Ania would be appalled to know was happening? Yes, he would have missed her if she had passed on, but all creatures returned to the source eventually.

Dorian couldn’t remember ever being so torn by an ethical decision before. Knowing his own motivations eluded him. Liam’s actions had a reason, but his were just as illogical. Unlike Liam, Dorian was sure he was going to live to regret his agreement to the deceit. He just hoped Liam was right about it deceiving his brother as well as his mate.

Evidently Conor Synar was more than Liam’s brother. They had learned today he also a formidable enemy. Dorian doubted Liam would ever underestimate his brother again because the price for doing so even once had been extremely high.

As he focused on the task of moving the bodies, Dorian realized it would take him a second trip back to collect the body of the first mate, Commander Jonas Tangier. Though Dorian was next in line and a logical choice to serve as first mate, he didn’t want the responsibility of leading.

Instead, Dorian much preferred serving as spiritual counselor and remaining third in the command chain. As spiritual counselor, he gave energy readings, cleared chakras, and helped crew members make decisions that would most greatly benefit them. Part of his gift was the ability to see a person’s most likely future, but when he tried to use his intuitive abilities to see what the future held for them now after their actions today, nothing would show itself to him.

At his age and advancement in his skills, Dorian knew there were only two reasons the future ever got blocked from his sight. One was when he had done something wrong and was being punished by the creators, which usually took the form of his gifts waning for a period of time. The other was because the creators of all didn’t want him to be cognizant of their plans.

As Dorian finished what he had committed to do, he pondered which one was most relevant to the current situation.

Chaper 1

The two men sat across the table from each other both frowning over their next mission. It was bringing up an old argument they had both been avoiding for over a year now. Dorian clamped his jaw tight and glared.

“What other choice is there? Stop being resistant to your destiny and set a course for Pleiades. You have to go tell the investigating counsel the whole truth,” he said, glaring at Liam Synar who was looking at the com station with murder in his eyes. “You know you can’t let Ania be punished for something out of her control. Besides which, your demon might kill more people because of her.”

“Malachi is not
my demon
, and don’t you think I realize the risks?” Synar asked stiffly. “I fear my brother was behind the recent attack on her and her parents. When Conor discovers the group he sent has been killed, he’ll know Malachi is nearby. I just wish I could rescue Ania without her planet announcing she’s a demon host to every other bloody planet in the Alliance. The Pleiadians believe in making things public. The day after I go there, Conor is going to know exactly where Malachi resides.”

Dorian nodded. “How can you face conflict after conflict on planets full of creatures who kill without thought and yet hesitate over this? Do you really fear your brother that much?” he asked.

“Yes, because no matter how much time has passed, my death is still his goal. More I fear what Conor would do if he actually gains control of Malachi. I can’t let that happen,” Synar said. “I’m caught between the past and the present, and I curse my father every day for that fact.”

Using his Siren intuition that he’d spent centuries perfecting, Dorian scanned his friend’s energy and saw that fear of his treacherous sibling was not Liam’s largest concern. The worst thing Liam feared at the moment was facing the wrong he had done to his mate for the past two years.

“Are you also worried about seeing Ania again after all this time?” Dorian asked, bringing up the touchy subject in the gentlest manner he could.

Synar took a moment and then answered with a question of his own. “Did you know Jonas before he hosted Malachi?”

Dorian shook his head slowly. “Just barely. Why?”

“Jonas dreamed of having a family and was trying to convince his favorite bonding female to formally mate him. When I put Malachi into Jonas to save his life, the female severed her relationship with him almost immediately. She said there was something different about Jonas and she couldn’t bring herself to bond with him anymore,” Synar said sadly. “I never felt that aversion with Ania, but I also never bonded with her before I left. She wasn’t healed enough. In our last discussion, she accused me of no longer wanting her. I let her believe it.”

“I still say that all your concerns would have fixed themselves over time if you’d just taken her with us. Do you really still think the answer was to abandon her completely?” Dorian asked.

“Regretting the past will not change what I did,” Liam said, frowning.

“Yes that is true Liam, but avoiding it won’t make it go away either,” Dorian said.

Dorian hoped the familiarity of hearing his first name would help the message get through his friend’s strong mind. Honor and duty had stifled Liam’s personal growth.

“I didn’t abandon her,” Synar said, the question bitter on his tongue even after all this time. “I believed if I left Conor would chase me and leave her alone. It’s mostly worked for the last two years. That proves I was right to leave her and the demon where they were both safe from Conor.”

“Maybe from your perspective your plan worked. What do you think the cost has been to your mate?” Dorian asked. “What do you think Ania feels about it?”

“Do you think I did this randomly? Without thought to the pain for us both? Well, I didn’t. I knew it would hurt us.” Synar drummed his fingers on the table. “Though I haven’t finished the third training book, I can tell you there’s nothing about demons being hosted in mates in the first two books of training. My father would be sorely disappointed in the demon master I’ve turned out to be. Yet I would do the same again to save Ania’s life. The decision is as horrendous to me now as it was when I made it, yet I would repeat it. I’ve all but gone mad dwelling on it.”

“I’ve known Ania a lot longer than you have, Liam. Her spirit is resilient and truer than any creature I have ever known. She bears the mark of the creators inside her. I believe she remains much more than a demon host body. In fact, she is a more complex being than you ever took the time to discover, which is why you underestimate her. You have always been blinded from seeing the whole person by focusing only on the physical desire you feel for her,” Dorian said.

“It was never the physical, Dorian. She was always small and fragile looking, and the lack of heat in her was vexing to me. I had to always be careful when we bonded. So no, it was not the physical. It was the spirit inside her, the way she had of seeing and dealing with things. I’ve always liked older females who were very settled in themselves,” Synar said. “Ania is unique. She can’t be replaced. It’s why I haven’t dissolved our mating agreement.”

Dorian’s spirit leapt to know that Liam Synar still had a great affection for his teacher and friend. Though he hadn’t been the catalyst for their meeting, he had counseled Ania to give his friend a chance. He had teased Liam in the beginning, but Dorian had seen they were meant for each other in a way few mated couples ever were. It was not the kind of gift from the creators that anyone should set aside—for any length of time.

“Indeed—unique is a good word for Ania Looren. She deserves more than you have given her, Liam. Don’t make me choose between the two of you again. I will choose very differently next time,” Dorian warned.