Demon Retribution (16 page)

“
Ah, your magnificent
explanation.” Cale crumbled the paper and tossed it against the
wall.

It bounced twice on the floor before coming
to a stop on the opposite side of the table. Then he stared at her
for a response, as if this were an everyday, normal
conversation.

Moving in a little closer,
Kyra checked her tone. “Look. Be mad at
me
. That’s fine. But stop frightening
Zoey.”

He hollered into the living room. “Zoey’s
fine! Aren’t you, Zoey?”

A moment later, Zoey’s soft reply reached
them. “I-I’m fine.”

The terror in that simple statement was
clear. Cale’s head tilted down. He let out a sound of frustration
as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

Cale stepped into the living room to see
that Zoey looked as daunted as the day he’d beheaded her daft
boyfriend. It hadn’t crossed his mind that his anger might affect
the human. But, then, nothing much in the way of cognitive thought
crosses the mind of a demon on the Edge.

He felt himself in control now—or at least,
more so—and was sure his eyes had returned to normal.

Kyra’s arms crossed over
her chest in silent accusation, as if
he
was the one in the wrong. But
seriously? How could she have imagined that leaving him behind was
a good idea? If she’d been captured, it still would have been his
fault for not protecting her.

He glared back at her as he crossed to take
a seat beside Zoey. She stiffened and kept her eyes straight
ahead.

“
Don’t be frightened,” he
said, and then repeated what he’d told her that night. “If I had
wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have seen it coming.”

Kyra gasped. “Is that supposed to make her
feel better?”

“
It’s okay,” Zoey replied
in a squeaky voice.

“
No, it’s not,” Kyra
insisted. “Come on, Zo, let’s take your necklace
upstairs.”

Zoey was quick to obey, practically leaping
off the couch.

Cale threw his arms out. “What did I say?”
He moved to follow them, but Kyra put her hand in his face, halting
him.

“
Uh-uh. You stay here.”
Then she tossed a small crumpled bag at his chest. He fumbled for
it, catching it before it fell. “By the way, we got you a present,”
she sneered, then ascended with angry steps behind Zoey.

Fuming, Cale decided to let
them go and tossed the offending item to the other end of the
couch, resolved to ignore it for the rest of the night. “What the
hell just happened?” he muttered to himself. How had
he
become the bad
guy?

He replayed the last few minutes in his
head, unable to piece it together. It wasn’t he who had acted
dangerously irresponsible.

Admittedly, he may have been a little
abrasive in his approach, but that was only because he’d been so
unhinged at finding them both missing. Panic had brought on a side
of the Edge he hadn’t felt since…He brushed the thought away.

While searching the area for signs of life,
he’d been swallowed by a cloud of dread and hollowed out by the
utter powerlessness to do anything about it. There had been no
scent for him to follow, though he’d covered more ground than all
his many perimeter checks combined.

He’d spent the entire day drowning in
helplessness. Sporadic thoughts of betrayal had plunged him deeper
into the bottomless pool of madness that is the Edge. Only by sheer
strength of will had he kept from getting lost there. From finding
that place that had been his home so many years before, and had
nearly consumed his mind.

It wasn’t until he’d seen the car driving up
the way that his fear transformed into something tangible. They’d
looked so at ease behind the windshield. Rage had replaced fear,
and he’d felt he deserved an explanation for their impudence. He
still deserved an explanation! But he was in charge of himself
enough now to understand that he wasn’t going to get one at the
moment.

His eyes drifted to the crumpled note. With
a grumbled surrender, he crossed to pick it up.

Good morning, Cale

He sneered.

Zoey and I have gone into town to set up an
account and funds for her. I care about her just as much as I do my
own family and want to make sure she is fully taken care of.

Please don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long
and I promise to be careful. I feel that, after my previous
encounters, I will be able to sense if any danger is near. Plus,
the town is small, and I don’t expect the Kayadon will even think
to consider it.

I didn’t wake you because I wanted to spend
some time alone with her, since I know I will never see her again,
and I was sure you would insist on coming along.

Please don’t be
mad.

Kyra

That’s it? Cale thought. That was supposed
to satisfy him?

He crumpled the paper again, ready to toss
it, but after holding it in his fist for a moment, decided to
pocket it. It made him wonder what ridiculous offering they thought
to appease him with.

He went back to the couch and snatched the
bag, turning it upside down so that a small, meager box fell into
his palm. Discarding the bag, he opened the item. Inside was a red,
oblong trinket, imbedded within a black foamy substance, obviously
meant to keep the item in place. He lifted the trinket between two
fingers and turned it this way and that, noting a strange insignia
that meant nothing to him. It was heavier than expected and oddly
layered with metal sections sandwiched between two flat red
ends.

Preposterous. A worthless hunk of—

He spied a half-moon indention on a sliver
of metal. Pulling at it with his nail, a segment swiveled out. One
edge of it was sharp, the other blunt.

A small blade, he realized.

He tested its sharpness with his thumb. Not
bad.

There were other half-moon carvings, and
before long, he had them all pulled out. He lowered to the couch,
gazing at his prize in pure masculine awe. It had everything!
Albeit small, but ingeniously crafted. Multiple blades, tools,
there was even a small light at one end.

Utterly enamored, he forgot his anger and
spent the rest of the evening exploring his new favorite
possession.

Sunlight snailed a path through the room
until the high mountains clipped its rays short. The cracked window
allowed a soft, chilled breeze to mingle with the curtains while
Kyra’s iPod played a mixture of tunes through a set of small
speakers.

She lay on her bed alone, still trying to
calm her nerves after three hours of settling down Zoey. Well,
actually it had been one hour of settling down Zoey, and two hours
of Zoey returning the favor.

She’d never been so angry at someone in her
life. Cale had been horrendous. And she hated to admit it, but his
anger had been more frightening than she’d let on. Zoey saw through
her, though, and somehow ended up siding with Cale.

How was it the human was more understanding
than she?

Maybe she shouldn’t have taken off like
that, with no real warning, but Cale had completely over
reacted.

Then again, maybe not.

She had become so used to being independent,
doing everything for herself, that it had never occurred to her
someone might worry for her. She’d become complacent here on Earth.
Comfortable among the humans, almost to the point of considering
herself, to a certain extent, one of them.

How could she not, after so long?

Magic had nearly been out of her life for
the last sixty years or so. The incident in the park was the first
time it resurfaced since she’d been silly enough to trust that
Spanish playboy—he’d been a little too keen, and Kyra a little too
lonely.

She quickly closed the door on that memory,
appreciating anew that Zoey was taking everything so well.

So eventually, but with
much resistance, Kyra had been able to see Cale’s side and admitted
that perhaps there was more danger than she wanted to believe. Who
was she kidding? Of course there was. What if she
had
gotten herself
captured, or worse, Zoey?

The idea sparked a blaze of guilt that
spread like wildfire. Aside from her own safety, there was her real
home to think of. Her family needed her. And if it were true she’d
be going back to Evlon, then maybe it was time she brushed up on
her royal etiquette and diplomacy.

Which meant making peace.

The muted sound of a door closing broke into
her thoughts. A pattern of light footsteps heading in the direction
of the bathroom gave Zoey away. A few seconds later, she heard the
shower.

She figured now was a good time to find Cale
and attempt an apology. If it turned into another fight, at least
Zoey would be out of the line of fire.

She knocked loudly on his bedroom door. With
no answer, she peeked in only to find it empty. The great room was
empty as well. Thinking he must have stepped out for another
perimeter check, she headed outside to the dim light of late
evening. Her eyes scanned the surrounding forest as she walked the
rocky driveway. If he was out there, there was no evidence.

She let out a sigh, resigned to go back
inside and wait till he returned.

A pair of steel arms came around her torso.
She screamed in surprise and struggled against the vice-like grip.
Within her chest her heart rate spiked wildly. She tasted the
swirling release of magic that seems to have discovered a passage
through all her usual blockades.

A migraine split her head as the magic
burrowed its way to the surface, like thousands of tiny claws.

Just before the destructive force ripped
free, she heard a familiar, mocking voice, “I thought you could
sense danger?”

“
Cale?” Frantic, she pulled
the magic inward, horrified and desperate to save Cale’s life, but
it was too late.

He must have heard the distress in her voice
because he released her and came around her front. Concern etched
his features.

He gripped her shoulders. “Kyra, what is it?
What’s wrong?”

She tried to reply but she couldn’t form
words. The magic didn’t like being caged, and its claws resisted
violently, like a deranged wild creature trying to escape.

A hand cupped her face, and she concentrated
on the feel of it against her cheek. She wanted to tell him to
run—she may have even gasped the word—but his other arm came around
her waist, and she realized he was holding her up. Her legs had
gone limp.

The magic pounded her from the inside,
seething. She tightened her mental grip on it, determined, for
once, to contain it.

She failed.

A painful blast of white flooded her vision
before it was sucked away by a vacuum of black.

A bustling of troubled voices re-introduced
her to the land of the living. Her body ached as if she’d spent the
last week fighting off the worst case the flu known to man. The
weight of a cool rag rested on her forehead. She reached up to pull
it off, but a hand gently took hold of her fingers. A thumb stroked
over her knuckles.

“
Kyra?” Cale sounded
strained.

“
What happened?” she
managed through a scratchy windpipe.

“
She awake?” Zoey called
from another room. Rapid footsteps sounded her approach.

Cale ignored her. “I fucked up, Kyra. I’m
sorry.”

Kyra squinted her lids open. The light of
the great room offended her eyes, but she stubbornly kept them from
closing again. From her spot on the couch, she could see one tall
window. The glass was pitch black. “How long have I been out?”