Demon Retribution (17 page)

Instead of answering, Cale whispered, “You
stopped breathing. I thought you were dead.”

She looked at him then, finally taking him
in. His skin was blotchy and looked tender. His clothes were singed
in spots. She scrutinized his face, which was tight with
stress.

“
Are you okay?” she choked
out.

He gave a cruel laugh.
“Am
I
okay?” He
wrapped his hand gently over the side of her face and brought his
cheek against hers. “For the love of the gods, woman, how could you
ask that?”

She placed her hand over his and he pulled
back to look at her, his features a chasm of sorrow.

Zoey poked her head over his shoulder,
concerned.

“
I’m okay,” she assured
them both.

“
What happened?” Zo
demanded.

Cale lowered his head, shaking it.

Before he could speak, Kyra explained, “Cale
startled me, and I lost control. It’s never happened so fast
before, and I’ve never tried so hard to stop it.”

Zoey looked confused. Cale shielded his eyes
behind his palm.

“
It’s not your fault,
Cale.”

“
Of course it
is.”

She shook her head, but then stilled as her
brain swished painfully. The room twirled, and she let her skull
drop back to the cushion with a soft groan.

Cale went into panic mode. “Kyra? Keep your
eyes open. Maybe you should sit up. Do we have any energy drinks?
Zo, get her an energy drink?”

Kyra actually cracked a smile. “Cale, relax.
I just got dizzy for a second.”

“
Still, you should drink
something. Or eat something. Are you hungry?”

“
No. Really, Cale. I just
need some sleep.”

“
But
what happened
?” Zo asked,
exasperated.

“
I’ll explain in the
morning,” Kyra offered, then attempted to stand.

“
I don’t think so.” Cale
slid his arms under her, lifting her as if she were practically
weightless. In just a few strides, they were up the stairs. Cale
set her on the edge of the mattress and knelt to help to slip off
her shoes. Too tired to put in an effort to stay upright, her back
met the soft sheets.

Somehow, during the time she’d closed her
eyes, her body made it under the covers. Cale perched at the end of
the bed. “Kyra—” he began, tone repentant.

“
Cale, please don’t
apologize. It was not your fault. I’m just…god, I’m just defective.
I have never been able to control this power inside me.” True
frustration leaked into her admission. “I’m like a time-bomb
without a timer. I’m surprised I didn’t kill you.”

“
Me too.” A corner of his
mouth turned up.

She glanced at his disheveled clothes. “Tell
me what happened there at the end. What did I do?”

“
You don’t
know?”

“
No, I usually black out at
the critical moment.”

He considered that for a moment. “You became
like a burning ember in my arms. Your body turned white hot…and you
stopped breathing.” He looked as though he stifled a flinch. “And
then something like an explosion shot out of you. It hit me like a
massive kick to the bollocks, knocked the wind out of me. Then it
snapped back with nearly the same force.”

“
I think I felt when that
happened. That was different.”

“
Different how?”

“
I’m usually not able to
rein it in like that. Never, actually.

“
What did it feel
like?”

“
Terrible,” she replied.
“Like every bone breaking at once.”

He frowned, and she thought he was about to
apologize again. Instead, he asked. “Why do you think it
happened?”

“
Like I said, you startled
me.” She covered a yawn with her hand.

“
Yeah, but I’ve startled
you before. In your apartment the first time, and then later, when
you discovered what I was.”

Kyra cocked her head. He was right. He
hadn’t done anything that should have been extraordinarily
frightening or alarming when he’d grabbed her. In fact, in his
voice, she’d sensed a soft playfulness. But, by then it had been
too late. Her magic had reacted in a split second.

“
Maybe it’s the stress,”
she suggested. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the Kayadon. And
then your outburst today made me consider the danger I may have put
Zoey and myself in, and made me wonder if I really could have
protected us. That probably added to it. Plus, every time I’m on
the run, I tend to have more…accidents.”

“
Accidents?”

“
Loss of control…a.k.a, I
blow shit up. I’ve been getting better about keeping it in though,
for the last few decades.” Her brows furrowed.

“
What?” Cale
asked.

“
I’ve never…I mean, before
you, no one has ever survived such close proximity.” Through her
tired, fuzzy mind she channeled the memory of the park attack. By
her experience, he should have perished alongside the Kayadon. Had
she been responsible for his survival, or was he naturally more
resistant to her magic?

When her lids drooped, Cale stood. “We’ll
discuss this further in the morning.” He paused at the door. “Do
you need anything?”

She shook her head, barely understanding
what he’d asked. If he’d closed the door, she didn’t know. She was
already out.

Cale leaned against her door for a long
while, staring at nothing in particular. He wanted so many things
at the moment. He wanted to know why she was given a gift that
debilitated her so, and what she’d meant by “on the run”. How many
times had she had to use her gift, and why? And had someone been
there to help her when she could barely walk? But mostly he wanted
to go back in there and watch over her to make sure she continued
breathing through the night.

When he’d spotted her outside, he’d thought
to tease her a bit and maybe apologize for his behavior. Much of
his anger had dissipated, and he was prepared to admit that he’d
overreacted…a little. He wasn’t prepared, however, for what had
occurred, and he couldn’t help but berate himself for it.

Her power had been fierce, like nothing he’d
ever seen or felt. Keeping her in his arms had been difficult—like
holding onto a sun—but he’d managed to stand his ground.

He’d played down the final blow for her. The
pain from the miniature stellar explosion had stolen his vision,
his breath, forcing him to one knee as he struggled to support her
body. Then the explosion had collapsed back on itself, delivering a
second painful blow.

He scrubbed his hand down his face,
remembering the sheer panic that flooded him when he’d found her
not breathing. He’d screamed her name over and over again, pumped
her chest and breathed for her. The task of getting her lungs
working again had been the only thing preventing him from
plummeting over the Edge into an all too familiar abyss.

Pushing away from her door, he let out a
harsh breath and headed back down the stairs. Zoey was waiting on
the couch, looking like she had no idea what she should be doing.
He didn’t know either.

“
Drink?” he
offered.

She nodded.

A moment later, they both sipped on
something called rum and coke. After Cale finished his first glass,
he opted for just rum. Zoey found a deck of cards and wiggled them
at him in question. He shook his head.

“
So what the hell
happened?” Zoey broke the silence.

He was glad she no longer feared him. That
was one thing he could stop fretting over. “I don’t know how to
explain,” he started. “Her sister did something similar once,
during one of our training sessions. She’d expelled a blast of
energy that had nearly knocked me over, but Kyra’s ability is a
hundred times stronger.”

“
Training? You taught her
sister?”

“
Sort of. I only helped
Anya harness her gift in a new way. We’d been experimenting,
mostly. I really had no idea what I was doing, but neither did she.
We just tried a slew of things to see what worked.”

“
And what
worked?”

Cale went quiet, unsure how to answer. He’d
tried so many different approaches with Anya. Some worked, some
didn’t. Some only worked once and not again. From what he’d
gathered, it had a lot to do with Anya’s state of mind. If she were
happy, her gift would react differently than if she were sad or
angry. He almost never got the same result out of her. One day it
would seem as though they made progress, the next she was back to
blowing up light bulbs.

Wait. Hadn’t Kyra just said she blew stuff
up?

Maybe her gift was more closely related to
Anya’s than he’d realized. Perhaps he could use the same tactics to
help her master it.

Cale cringed, recalling an unfortunate
emotional outburst that he’d unintentionally pulled from Anya. It
had been but a simple lesson with swords. He’d made her dig into a
dark part of her psyche, not knowing the damage that lay there,
waiting to rage.

He hadn’t realized it then—it had happened
so fast—but the chit had put real power into her sword and had
actually forced him to retreat from a fight.

He’d have to be much more cautious with
Kyra. Otherwise an “exploding light bulb” could turn into an
exploding Cale.

Finally, he replied to Zoey, “I have no
idea.”

A shard of morning light warmed Kyra’s face,
brightening the backs of her eyelids. She moved her pillow to block
it until she could urge her sticky eyes open. Her tummy was
noticeably empty, her throat scorched dry. The clock read 7:29am.
Could she have only been asleep for a few hours?

Next to the clock sat a large glass of
water. Thank the heavens! She heaved to sit up and brought the
liquid to her lips, gulping heavily until the need for air took
over.

A light snoring sound caught her attention.
In the corner, Cale was settled in a not so comfortable looking
position on one of the large chairs that had initially resided
downstairs. He slumped with his head to the side, his feet propped
on her small vanity—muddy boots and all.

She had to smile.

It took a few times of calling his name
before he stirred, but once he did, it was as if he hadn’t been
asleep at all, whereas she was still stretching and rubbing her
eyes.

“
How long was I out?” she
asked.

He looked at the time. “Thirty-seven hours.
How do you feel?”

“
Alright, I guess. A little
hungry.” She paused. “I’m so sorry. I may have asked already, but I
didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“
Not as bad as you could
have, I’m sure.” He paused. “Zoey’s been keeping busy in the
kitchen. I’ll see if she can make you something.”

“
Oh, coffee! Tell her
coffee. Say, pretty please with kisses and hugs and a cherry on
top.”

Cale twisted his face in horror. “I’m not
saying that.”

She laughed. “Okay then, just coffee if she
doesn’t mind.”

“
You should eat something
too.”

“
I will, but I can get it
myself. I’ll be down after I take a quick shower.”

Cale nodded and then turned to leave.

“
Wait.” She called. “Thanks
for taking care of me.”

He nodded once more and then was gone.

Kyra took note of all the sore spots in her
body. Instead of a thirty-seven hour peaceful, dreamless slumber,
it felt like she’d been in a gym with a Tae Bo drill sergeant.

Gathering a change of clothes and a towel,
she headed for the bathroom. The water was blissfully warm, and as
it soaked her, she let her muscles relax, stretching them a little
more under the heat.

She turned the knob and stepped out of the
steamy enclosure.

The outfit she picked was soft and loose: a
pair of sweats and a long sleeved cotton shirt. By the time she was
dried and dressed, she felt even better. Her hair was a tangled
mess, but a brush made quick work of the strawberry gold strands.
Deciding not to take the time to dry it, she pulled it back into a
wet ponytail.

The instant she emerged into the hallway,
the scent of coffee beckoned her. Both Cale and Zoey sat at the
table, waiting.

“
How are you?” Zoey
asked.

“
If I didn’t know any
better, I’d think a truck slammed into me. Other than that, I’m
perfect.” Kyra paused as the rest of the kitchen came into view,
and her mouth dropped open. Bread, muffins, pastries, and desserts
topped every counter. “You weren’t kidding,” she said to
Cale.