Demon Retribution (43 page)

Ginn continued, “I wonder at times if the
illness changed more than our outer shells. I have looked into the
eyes of my oldest friends and no longer know them.” His words were
layered with an ancient sorrow.

The opening of a creaking door silenced them
all. Kyra, unsure if she should be seen awake, closed her eyes,
leaving herself a crack of vision. Another Kayadon walked past,
ignoring them. Out of sight, what sounded like drawers opened and
closed.

Then the newcomer spoke. “Still angry,
demon? I hear it took seven darts to take you down, and still you
wake ahead of schedule. Remarkable. But then, your kind always was.
It really is a shame that extraordinary strength and endurance
could not be tapped. It was so like our own.”

“Fuck you,” Cale grated. She could imagine
what his face looked like.

“As eloquent as ever. I would love to know
how you got onto this planet, but I suppose I must resign to be
disappointed. Your people are extremely hard to break, and I
haven’t the time to try.” To Ginn he said, “How is your companion
doing? Has she awakened?”

Kyra waited for Ginn’s reply, expecting him
to give her up, but he didn’t. “She sleeps soundly yet.”

“No matter. I merely await her blood test to
decide her fate.” The male walked away, turning off the lights as
he went.

Long afterward, Kyra kept still.

“He’s gone,” Ginn assured.

She peeked one eye open, then the other.

Cale looked infuriated. “What do they plan,
you wretch?”

Ignoring the insult, Ginn replied, “Their
only interest in you, demon, is as Malachi said, to find out how
you got here. Why, and when. She is Faieara. They are testing her
blood for the presence of blood magic and for her lineage.”

“Why my lineage?” Kyra blurted, alarmed.

“Blood magic is detectable.” He paused.
“Most of the time. Cognitive magic is not. However, we’ve
documented the hereditary nature of your people’s magic and have
been tracking bloodlines to predict an individual’s abilities.”

Cale barked out a curse.

“What happens when they find out?” she
squeaked.

“It depends. Are you a healer?”

“No.”

“Then if your magic is in the blood, they
may try an extraction. Or, if your bloodline is promising, they may
attempt to breed you.”

Cale spat, “Over my dead body!”

“Obviously,” Ginn said dryly.

Shoving away the idea of being forced to
breed, Kyra probed, “What do you mean by extraction?”

“They take the blood and attempt to
genetically alter it for public consumption. If it works, you’ll be
transferred to a larger facility to become a permanent donor.”

Teeth grinding, she hissed, “How can you
sound so blasé about that?”

“I’m not long for this world and haven’t the
energy for tact, but I am not without compassion, little one. I did
my best, until my illness made it impossible, to free as many as I
could. It may hearten you to know there are still some on the
inside who do the same. Not all of us are the monsters we appear to
be.” He exhaled a weary breath. “I do assure you that I am sorry
for what’s been done to your people, and for what it’s worth, yours
as well, demon. But there is nothing I can do to change it.”

Kyra hesitated. “What if there was something
you could do?”

“What do you mean?” he said, just as Cale
barked, “Kyra, no.”

“Hypothetically, of course.” she added.
“What if you could do something to free all Faieara?”

“It would have been done already. Either by
myself or others in the Resistance.” As if anticipating her
question, he added, “The Resistance is a guild, the first, I
believe, and a large one. It’s made up of both Faieara and Kayadon,
though I hear it’s dwindled in size. Time is not on their side, you
see. Unless they’ve recruited a powerful healer.”

“So…you would help my people? Even if it
meant the downfall of your own?”

“I would. Like I said, to me, our destiny is
clear. We must accept it.”

“You cannot trust him, Kyra,” Cale warned.
“He could have been placed here to gather information from us.”

“I’ve learned nothing from you,” Ginn
argued. “Other than she is not a healer, if that be the truth. And
in case you haven’t been paying attention, I am not the one
prying.”

Kyra was starting to regain some feeling in
her body and realized she was lying awkwardly with one leg bent
under the other. She attempted to move with mild success.

Ginn noticed. “I can help you sit more
comfortably.”

She nodded. Her joints were on fire from
whatever drug they’d pumped into her, and when he lifted her, she
cried out from pain.

Immediately, Cale began slamming his
shoulder into the clear pane of his cell, his irises firing. She
realized the sound of his body crashing against the barrier was the
thud, thud, thud she’d woken up to. Then she noticed a large heavy
bruise darkened the skin of his upper arm.

As Ginn leaned her against a wall, he said,
“The pain will ease, but your magic will continue to be blocked for
some time.”

“Blocked?” she repeated, partly distracted
by what Cale was doing to himself.

“Yes, haven’t you noticed? Surely you’ve
tried to use it by now.”

“No,” she replied absently. “Cale, please
stop that.”

The skin on his shoulder was starting to
break. Thankfully, he obeyed, falling to his knees with an
expression that made her chest twist painfully.

“Hmm…” Ginn turned thoughtful. “Must not be
useful in situations such as this, then.”

She ignored his observation. “Ginn, is there
any way of getting out of here?”

He shook his head, sorrowfully. “They’ll
keep your magic suppressed, even if it is useless to you. And
although your demon had been putting in a good effort, these walls
are unbreakable. Made of a very strong transparent metal.”

“What about when they bring food?”

“That comes through a thin slot in the wall
at your back.”

“What about—”

“They’ll only open the door when they come
for you or I, and I am too weak to overpower anyone. The demon will
be gassed, once the curiosity fades.”

Her head shook as her mind attempted to
reject the last statement. The door burst open, and the
Kayadon—Malachi—entered in a rush. He stopped in front of the clear
pane and gaped at her with something akin to awe.

“Royal blood,” he whispered.

A heavy ball of air clogged her lungs as
panic surged. Ginn’s face froze in shock. She wanted to deny it,
but words failed her. They both stared at her like starving beasts
to a steak.

Cale’s gaze fixed on the floor, eyes wide,
as though he had retreated into thought.

She didn’t think it was possible, but
Malachi’s expression turned even more horrific, twisting like a
decomposed Halloween pumpkin. “Ru may be the first to actually
receive his reward.”

Ru?

Cale’s words flashed
through her mind.
Ru showed me a good
location for you to practice
.

Why would one of her own betray them?

Cale peeled his lips back, baring his fangs.
His eyes burned and swirled with rage. She imagined he was
contemplating all they ways to rip Ru to shreds. Hell, she was
doing the same.

To Ginn, Malachi said, “And if she turns out
to be a healer, Ginn, you could be the first to be cured.”

“She is not.” he replied, still slightly
befuddled.

“Even still, all royal blood contains magic,
and as you well know, there is always more power in her line.” On
his way out, she heard Malachi exclaim, “I can not wait to perform
the extraction.”

Adrenalin coursed as her mind seized on the
word. Forcing herself to think straight, she said, “What did he
mean ‘as you well know’?”

Ginn continued to gape at her. “All Kayadon
know of the power-filled royal blood line. We are obligated to
alert the heads if we ever come across it. They pray for a royal
healer.”

Fear finally overwhelmed her, and tears
began to trail down her cheeks. “If I told you I was a healer would
you recant your previous statement? Would you change your mind
about helping the Faieara?”

His silence was answer enough. She didn’t
even know why she’d asked. She wasn’t a healer, but if she were,
then of course he’d take advantage. The instinct to survive would
overcome.

Still paralyzed, she watched Cale prowl the
length of his cell. He had yet to return from his trip to the Edge.
His normally light colored horns burned red, looking as though they
would sizzle at the touch. His eyes glistened like flowing
lava.

She tried to calm him, but it was hard when
she couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice. “We’re going to get
through this, Cale, but I need you to stay with me.”

He barely acknowledged her plea.

Hope didn’t fully leave her until she saw
the dentist chair from hell being wheeled in by a new set of
Kayadon. Just as Ginn had said, her power was stifled. Not even
terror woke the beast from its coma. The pounding of her heart
threatened to break through her ribcage.

Throat tight, she rasped, “Ginn? What are
they doing?”

He’d moved away from her to sit against the
far wall.

“Extraction,” he replied.

The word reverberated through her,
heightening her building panic. “Will it hurt?”

“Yes.” He didn’t sound happy or sad for her,
just apathetic.

The clear pane of the cell slid partway
open, and two Kayadon with weapons pointed at Ginn entered. Their
dark robes swayed with each step. With a bored expression, Ginn
raised his hands as though this were a routine he’d witnessed a
thousand times.

Another Kayadon entered and went for
her.

Cale’s roar vibrated the walls. It only
succeeded in making the Kayadon pause and share a look. Soon
enough, she was being strapped in to the chair. First her arms and
legs, then her neck. Cale let out a vicious snarl.

Mustering up a steady voice, she called,
“Cale, don’t watch. Turn around.” She didn’t want him seeing her
like this.

He didn’t respond, just continued to prowl
like the caged animal he was. Whatever the Edge was, she got the
feeling he had flung himself over it.

Put me there
forever
.

“No, no, no,” she chanted just before a belt
strap made its way between her teeth and was yanked tight. She was
completely immobile and even more frightened because she could no
longer see through her tears.

The chair dipped back, angling her toward
the ceiling.

The distinct sound of Cale ramming himself
against his cell started up again. He sounded monstrous in his
fury, and the thudding tuned into a terrible crunching sound. With
each blow, she winced.

Someone said, “He’s not going to stop. Just
gas him.”

Kyra screamed around the thick, leathery
restraint. When a faint hissing sound started, her heart dropped
painfully and bile rose in her throat. Her limbs lay flaccid when
all she wanted to do was flail.

Cale continued to barrel into the wall with
the force of a freight train, but after a moment she noticed he
began to slow.

Her mind went wild. She sucked in air,
feeling like she wasn’t filling her lungs at all. Panic surged,
taking root and spreading like a weed. It filled every cell, every
vein. It crawled and clawed like a…like a beast.

Her thoughts froze and then sprang to
life.

Instead of pushing it back, she pulled it
forward, calling to it like a malicious pet. Her joints became
inflamed, but she ignored the pain as magic tried to dig its way
out of her. And when Cale roared, so did her magic. It pulsed and
pushed and clawed, sensing delicious freedom. Though it might tear
her apart from the inside out, and though she heard herself
screaming from the agony, she smiled.

Raged coated Cale’s vision in red. These
Kayadon would die painfully. His claws itched for their blood. But
first, there was nothing more important than getting to Kyra.

Dimly, he registered his shoulder had been
dislocated from battering the wall, but felt little pain. Seeing
his mate like this was the only thing he could concentrate on. It
was the worst kind of torture. Nothing could compare. With each
bone-grinding ram, he convinced himself he was making process.

Just as he heard the faintest clink in the
barrier, a Kayadon crossed to a panel and pressed a sequence of
buttons. Cale rushed the wall harder. At the impact, a crack
splintered like a web. He focused all his strength on that spot,
bashing himself against it, using his body like a battering
ram.

A hissing sounded and the air grew heavy. At
some point, his lungs began to burn as though he’d drunk a vile of
liquid fire. He only managed one more hit before he was forced to
one knee. Beyond the haze of his fury, he couldn’t fathom why.