Demon Slave (14 page)

She opened her eyes to ask Marik about it,
but an unfamiliar face was gazing down at her.

Nadua screamed.

“
I’ll kill you, pirate!”
Sonya lunged at the man pilfering her liquor.

He dodged quite well for someone who’d just
been guzzling straight from a bottle. They were standing in the
storage room of her pub, and she was blocking the only exit.

“
Calm yourself, female. I
was just sampling the product to see what would be best to
recommend to our clients.”

“
My
clients!” She growled as her horns began to glow against her
straight black hair.

“
I’ll pay for the liquor,
it was only a drop.”

“
Damn right you’ll pay for
it! And that bottle was nearly full till you got your hands on
it.”

The bastard had the gall to roll his eyes at
her. “Very well, I’ll buy you another bottle. What’s the big
deal?”

What’s the big deal?

The big deal was she had to see this damn
pirate every day! Had to train him to work in her pub, and even pay
him a salary! A kindness forced upon her by her big brother,
Sebastian.

Ethanule brushed his blond hair back,
revealing his slightly pointed ears. The pirate was from the same
race as her best friend, Anya, but they couldn’t be more different
from each other. Anya was sweet and loveable. Ethanule was
arrogant—almost more so than Sonya’s other brother, Cale, if that
were even possible—and thought himself superior to demons.

With a slur in his voice, Ethanule tipped
the scale of her anger from enraged to murderous by saying, “You
know, you’re rather attractive when you’re pissed off. You should
remain that way all the time.”

She swung at him, but again she missed. How
could he be so fast, especially drunk? Sonya blamed the confined
space. She wasn’t used to fighting in such small quarters. Besides,
she didn’t want to disturb the many bottles lining the walls.

“
What’s going on?” A soft
voice that Sonya instantly recognized came from the
doorway.

“
Princess!” Ethanule
greeted Anya with a smile.

Sonya took advantage of his temporary
distraction. She latched her tail around the almost empty bottle
still grasped in his hand, and then flung it hard into the side of
his head. The glass shattered, and a smile spread across her lips
as he went down.

Anya shrieked. “What are you doing?” She
rushed past and knelt beside the pirate’s limp body. “Ethan?”

“
His head is far too thick
for me to do any real damage.” When Anya gave her a chiding look,
Sonya whined, “He was stealing my liquor.”

“
You two have got to stop
fighting. Sebastian and I are leaving for Undewla soon and you’ll
be acting as captain. If you want your pub to stay open, then you
need him. Everyone else is occupied with their own jobs. Sebastian
had to pull one of the mechanics to work the galley.”

“
Yeah, and the food just
isn’t the same.”

With worry etched in her features, Anya’s
head dropped. She continued to blame herself for Marik’s
situation.

“
It’s not your fault. And
you’ll find him, don’t fret. Marik can take care of himself. I’m
sure he’s fine.”

Ethan grumbled from the floor, “That was a
cheap shot, demon witch.” Gripping his head, he sat up.

Sonya couldn’t help but smirk. “But I
thought I was oh-so pretty when I was angry? Change your mind, did
you?

“
Indeed.”

Both she and Anya watched as he summoned his
gift. Ethanule could heal himself and others. At the spot where
blood was matting in his blond hair, he placed his hand. A bright
light erupted underneath. Sonya shielded her eyes from it. When it
was over he stood, a bit wobbly. Whether it was from the hit or the
stolen alcohol, Sonya didn’t know.

“
That tail of yours is
wicked. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on it from now on.”

“
You do that!”

Wait, had she just given him permission to
check out her tail?

“
Just keep your eyes on my
pub, and if I catch you sneaking drinks again, you might not be
able to heal after what I’ll do to you.”

* * *

Marik woke fully on the Edge and found that
his hands gripping the neck of someone threatening his woman. Cords
of confusion tangle in his brain.

Not my
woman
.
Nadua
.

He roared at the man pinned up against the
cavern wall. A pair of horns, similar to his own, poked through the
man’s sandy blond hair, causing Marik’s murky mind to swirl.

A lithe voice urged him to cease, but he had
to protect what was his. Marik’s grip tightened.

“
Marik! Stop! He just
startled me.” When Marik didn’t back off, she added, “He’s not
fighting.”

Nadua was right. His eyes had not gone red.
His horns remained cool. He wasn’t showing fangs, and his arms were
limp at his side.

Marik pulled away from the Edge as best he
could, easing his hold slightly, but not enough for the stranger to
move. “Who are you?”

Nadua gasped. “What? You don’t know
him?”

Sucking in a breath, the man responded, “My
name is Rex.” After another breath he added, “Did Orson send
you?”

Marik let go and backed away, placing
himself in front of Nadua. “I don’t know any Orson.” Aggression
still coursed through him, but curiosity started to overrule.

Rex snapped his eyes between Marik and
Nadua, brows drawn in confusion. Apprehension shadowed his feature.
With his shoulders slumping, he took on a hopeless expression. “But
I thought...” Rex raised his head to study Marik’s horns.
Incredulous, he continued, “You haven’t come for me?”

With Rex maintaining his nonthreatening
stance against the wall, and the last of the Edge seeping away,
Marik was beginning to comprehend. By the looks of him, this demon
has been on his own for some time. His clothes were poorly mended
and badly stained. His sandy hair, falling unevenly below his
shoulders, looked as though it hadn’t been tended to in ages. It
wasn’t difficult to guess his story.

“
Was it you who killed that
Kaiylemi?”

Rex nodded.

Nadua spoke. “Oh, no. You don’t expect me to
believe that you don’t know who this is.” She was backing away from
them. She’d put up her hood and wrapped her face with the attached
scarf so that Marik could only see her eyes. They looked annoyingly
suspicious.

“
Nadua.” Marik took a step
toward her, still keeping the other demon in his sight. “I promise,
I don’t know him.”

She continued her retreat, looking as though
she was ready to run. “It’s just a massive coincidence that we
suddenly find another demon? This is just too convenient. What is
your game?”

“
This isn’t some silly
trick.”

At the mouth of the cave, Nadua stood
against the darkness of early morning. Thick clumps of drifting
snow sparkled in the space around her.

Marik growled, “You can run, but you won’t
get far. I’ll just bring you back and keep you tied up for the rest
of the duration.”

“
You expect me to trust you
when you talk to me like that?”

Marik didn’t answer. The manner in which
he’d woke made him more than irritable, and the renewed fear in
Nadua’s eyes had him wanting to lash out.

When she edged out farther, he yelled in a
tone that he’d meant to be pleading, but it came out as more of a
demand: “Don’t!”

Turning on her heels, Nadua took off down
the hill. If he had forced her to remove her skins last night, as
he wanted to, she never would have made the attempt.

Note to
self
.

Marik turned to Rex who was now slumped on
the floor, ignoring them completely. His demeanor screamed despair.
“Stay here,” he ordered.

Rex gave the tiniest of nods without looking
up from the ground.

Marik wasn’t sure if the demon would obey,
but he couldn’t worry about that now. He needed to go after
Nadua.

Outside, he spotted her tracks. She’d
already disappeared into the dense gnarled trees. Marik plunged
through the surprisingly deep snow after her. It must have stormed
heavily throughout the night.

It didn’t take long for Marik to catch up to
Nadua, who was plowing ahead of him, buried up to her chest. By her
increased speed, she knew he was nearing. Still, he easily closed
the space between them.

He leapt toward her. She let out a squeak
when he caught her around the waist. He took her to the ground,
turning at the last moment to keep from landing on top of her.
Fluffy white flakes covered them both. She squirmed to get away,
but Marik rolled her so that she was under him.

Nadua lifted her head to holler in his face.
“Let me go!”

Through the melee, most of the snow under
them had been pushed to the sides, creating a kind of private
cocoon.

“
Why are you
running?”

“
You’re not being truthful
with me!”

Marik stifled a growl. “Yes, I am!”

“
No, you’re not. I’m still
just your prisoner, aren’t I? Let me go! I just want to go home to
Ava!”

“
Well, that’s not going to
happen! Not now! In fact, you may never see Ava again!”

Nadua stilled. The look she gave him gouged
his heart and ripped him out of his rage. Though it was said out of
anger, he knew there was nothing he could do at the moment to take
it back.

Her shock flashed to anger
and then morphed into hatred directed at him. It didn’t matter. He
only needed to get Nadua to the
Marada
and then Sebastian and Anya
could take her from there. If Nadua didn’t want to go with them
after speaking with her sister, fine. She could stay on this
floating ice cube for the remainder of her days.

Surely they could defeat the Kayadon without
her. Whatever her gift was, it couldn’t be that influential. Thus
far, the chit hadn’t given the slightest hint that she even had any
power, besides attracting people who wanted to kill her.

Inwardly, he cringed, realizing he’d never
bothered to ask if she had a gift. And by the stubborn look
creeping over her now, she wasn’t about to answer any questions at
the moment. He must remember to inquire, after she cooled down a
bit.

He should have been pleased that she didn’t
fight when he hiked her over his shoulder and carried her back to
the cave, but the relenting dead weight of her body irked him.
Inside the cave, he set her down, and tried to avoid her hurt
gaze.

Rex hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor,
and didn’t even look up when they entered.

It crossed Marik’s mind to restrain Nadua,
but he couldn’t stand to do that to her. Even though he needed her
to stay put, he wouldn’t tie her up and leave her defenseless. Not
when there were so many unknown threats around them.

He turned to Rex. “You’ve been here a long
time, haven’t you?”

Studying the ground, Rex nodded.

“
Were you involved in what
they call the Demon War?”

Rex looked up, displaying a hollow chasm of
loss in his dark gray eyes. “Is that what they call it? I remember
fighting. I couldn’t say how it escalated so quickly.” He dropped
his head. “I was left behind.”

“
Have you been living here,
in these caves?”

Another silent nod.

Then Nadua chimed in. “You look quite tidy
for a cave dweller.”

Although Marik didn’t appreciate her tone,
she did have a point. His clothes and hair were a mess, but the
rest of him looked as though he’d washed and shaved this morning.
Marik felt his own stubbled chin.

“
I’ve learned how to take
care of myself over the years. Whatever I can hunt, I hunt.
Whatever I can’t hunt, I steal.”

That sparked something in Nadua, her eyes
going wide. “Steal from whom?”

“
Whomever I can,” he said
simply.

Nadua’s eyes worked back and forth,
processing his answer.

“
What is it?” Marik
asked.

Her resulting glare was piercing and he
wasn’t sure she would respond to him.

“
There is a legend,” she
finally said.

Marik threw up his hands in exasperation.
“Of course there is.”

Nadua stepped toward Rex, but Marik stayed
her with a hand to her elbow and a look of warning. When she ripped
away from him, he quickly convinced himself that it didn’t make his
heart sink a little. He wanted to pull her against him and demand
she forgive him for his harshness, but that would most likely just
aggravate her further.