Demon Slave (35 page)

“
Run a physical analysis.
Are they calm?”

“
No, I’m reading three
elevated heart rates, and traces of blood.”

“
Shit. I’m heading to the
docking bay. If you detect conflict, seal off the area and alert
the crew.” No need to start a panic. Yet.

She stopped to gather weapons from the
weapons locker. Because projectile guns could be detrimental to a
ship’s hull, they were outlawed on most civilized ships.

Sonya had convinced Sebastian to stock a few
of the safer energy based weapons, though. The one she was
currently strapping to her waist—and had been dying to try out—was
a small hand held called a pulsar blaster. It directed a pulse of
energy that could knock someone on their ass and crush the breath
out of them, while leaving the heavy metal casing of the ship
intact. Sonya also grabbed a couple of light weight swords before
she hurried to her next stop.

Though she didn’t like the idea of asking
for his help, Ethanule had proven himself to be skilled in the art
of combat. And, despite the fact that she was currently in
shambles, her family was more important than her pride.

Poking her head into The Demon’s Punchbowl,
Sonya spotted Ethan, chatting across the bar with a couple crewmen.
“Ethan! Come with me, now.”

He looked up, bewildered at her tone but
withheld the usual snarky comeback. A little uneasy, he approached.
“Uh, do you want me to close the—”

“
No time,” she whispered
now that he was near. “Sebastian is docking, and I’m not sure, but
there could be trouble.”

His demeanor instantly changed, and she
caught a glimpse of the soldier he once was. Taking hold of the
sword she offered, he followed without another word. When they
arrived at the docking bay, the shuttle had already settled. But
they could only wait and watch through the thick clear window pain
in the bulkhead, as the room was in the process of being
pressurized.

The wait was agonizing. Sonya could see two
bodies through the front window of the shuttle. Sebastian at the
helm, and Marik, who was covered in blood. Her tail flicked
nervously.

Pressurization complete, the hatch whooshed
open. Sonya moved in first, her blade in one hand and her blaster
in the other. The door at the back of the shuttle slid forward,
forming a set of stairs. A bloodied stranger, sword sheathed around
his waist, filled the opening.

Sonya raised her pulsar gun as the Edge made
its way to the front of her mind. If he had done anything to her
family, she would make his suffering last years.

The unfamiliar man took one step before he
realized Sonya and Ethanule had weapons drawn. His eyes flashed
red. Sonya spotted the small horns atop his head and halted for a
second.

Didn’t matter. She’d take him down and ask
questions later.

The demon pulled his sword and jumped
forward, landing on the metal floor with a hard thud. Rising to his
full height, he pointed his weapon at them.

Sonya could feel her own horns blanching red
as they warmed. She was ready to squeeze the trigger and watch this
bastard fly. But before she could, Ethan pushed her behind him and
hurled himself at the other man.

A frustrated growl escaped her as the sound
of their blades meeting bounced off the walls.

Stepping forward, Sonya was about to reclaim
her right to battle when a woman’s scream sounded from the shuttle.
What came next happened so fast, Sonya’s head spun.

A fiery-haired woman had started shooting
Ethan with arrows as he continued to fight off the demon. Enveloped
by the Edge, Sonya’s body moved in a flash. Before she knew it, the
woman was on the ground under her. The woman’s head bounced off the
metal and Sonya’s sword settled at her throat. Then the weight of a
thousand meteors smashed into her, so hard that she slid across the
floor, only stopping when a wall got in the way. The impact was
jarring, and she knew the ship now displayed a Sonya-shaped
dent.

When her mind cleared, she was shocked by
who it was that was growling maliciously at her. “Marik?”

Eyes swirling with liquid fire, he looked as
though he were ready to rip her to pieces.

Sebastian was out of the shuttle, throwing
himself between Ethan and the strange demon. Anya was hunched over
the red-headed bitch who looked dazed as she pulled herself to
sit.

Sonya’s nostrils flared.

Oh no
.

No wonder Marik’s claws were still digging
painfully into her shoulders. Sonya had unknowingly attacked his
mate. The very idea could send a demon spiraling over the Edge.

Ethanule stepped toward them, looking as if
he wanted to turn his sword on Marik. Sonya stilled him with her
palm. “Hey, Red.” She kept her voice calm, so not to further
agitate Marik. “Call off your boy.”

The girl gave her an icy glare, then
softened at the sight of Marik in his deep rage. “Marik, it’s
okay.”

Marik didn’t move.

“
Marik, look at
me.”

His breathing calmed, and his hold on Sonya
began to loosen.

“
Eyes on me.”

Marik’s gaze shifted to Red. Sonya watched
his eyes fade back to normal and his horns fizzle out. The moment
she was sure he was himself, Sonya snipped, “Get off me, you
jackass.”

He rose to his feet. “What the fuck do you
think you’re doing?”

She reached to massage away the pain in her
shoulder. “It looked as though you had been hijacked. Why is
everyone so bloody? And who the hell is that?” She motioned her
head toward the new demon. They had only expected to receive Nadua,
Anya’s sister.

After checking on Nadua, Marik gave a short
explanation while throwing dark looks at Sonya.

“
Maybe you should have
mentioned that in your transmission! What am I supposed to think
when everyone is bathed in blood?” She pointed an accusing finger
at Ethan. “And you! Don’t ever get in my way again. I brought you
here as back up, not protection.”

“
Perhaps you should take
your own advice and inform me ahead of time. It would be nice to
know what I’m getting myself into.”

She flushed at that, noticing at the same
time two arrows had penetrated his side. The need to take Red to
the ground arose, but she ignored the urge, as well as the
reasoning behind such a desire.

Bastian spoke up. “Let’s just get everyone
mended and cleaned up. Anya, you can take your sister to our room
to wash up and lend her some clothes.”

That gave Sonya pause. Why wouldn’t Red be
going to Marik’s room?

“
Marik, show Rex to one of
our empty compartments. He looks about my size, so I’ll provide
something for him to wear.”

“
Thank you,” Rex said. He
had yet to relax though, and his eyes were taking in everything
around him.

“
But first, everyone give
me your weapons. I won’t have you walking my ship armed as you are.
Sunny isn’t the only one who would jump to the wrong
conclusion.”

Sonya grumbled, “Don’t call me that!”

Sebastian stowed their weapons in a bin and
they all left, following Bastian’s orders.

Sonya headed back to her pub and set to work
wiping down the bar. She was grateful to be relieved of acting
captain, and ready to get back to her normal routine.

In a teasing voice, someone at the end of
the bar shouted, “Hey Ethan, nice accessories.”

Sonya turned. Ethan had followed her instead
of going to sickbay. “What are you doing?”

“
I was going to get back to
work.”

Sonya gaped at him. “Are you just going to
leave those where they are?”

“
Of course not.” Though the
arrows were buried nearly halfway in, he looked unconcerned. “I can
heal instantly, but since you’re the reason they’re in there I
figure you should be the one to pull them out.”

“
I’m not pulling them out!
Go to the doctor.”

“
You get me injured and you
won’t even help me?”

“
I didn’t tell you to jump
in front of me and get yourself shot, pirate.”

Ethan’s eyes went dark. “Maybe if you had
proved you could fight—”

Vision red, Sonya’s hand wrapped around the
butt of an arrow. She wrenched it, feeling flesh tear as she did.
Ethan howled and nearly doubled over.

Sonya’s teeth clenched. She didn’t usually
mind doling out pain, but this bothered her for some reason. The
few people in the bar went quiet and watched with curiosity.

She swallowed hard and found her throat had
gone dry. “There. Now go have Doctor Oshwald do the other one.”

“
No, just get it over
with.” He stood, blood gushing from the wound.

“
Why aren’t you
healing?”

“
I can’t heal till the
other one is out.”

“
Damn you.” Sonya gripped
the other arrow tight and yanked just as hard as she did the first
one.

She could tell it hurt him just as much as
before, but he was expecting it this time and only growled through
his teeth.

Their eyes met.

“
Was that supposed to be
some sort of gesture?”

With a barely noticeable movement, his
shoulder twitched.

“
Just heal yourself and get
out of my pub.” Sonya turned to take drink orders, but when she
asked one of the patrons what he wanted, he continued to stare at
Ethan and the pool of blood gathering at his feet.

Sonya snapped, “You’re getting blood all
over the place! Heal already!”

“
Not until you agree that
we’re even.”

Sonya could only gape at him. “Even? How
does this make us even?”

“
I hurt you, you hurt me.
Hence we’re even.”

“
Is that a pirate
thing?”

He shrugged.

“
Well, there’s nothing to
make even. I’m a big girl and I knew what I was doing.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
“Well, I didn’t! If I had known I wouldn’t have...I would have
been—”

“
Enough!” She pulled away
from him, suddenly embarrassed by their audience. “I don’t want to
talk about this anymore. So fine then, we’re even. Go away.” She
paused. “But clean up this mess first.”

She turned, resolving to ignore him for the
rest of the night. Maybe the rest of the month.

By the glimmer of light refracting off her
bar, she knew he was finally rejuvenating. A strange kind of relief
had her stomach unclenching. She decided not to analyze that too
closely.

Stupid
pirate
.

The ship reminded Nadua of a luxury boat her
family used to own. The rooms were comfortable, decorated in warm
colors. The people were friendly, and always greeted her as if she
was already one of them. Marik had been correct when he said she
would like it here.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one showing her
around. Analia was. In fact, she hadn’t seen Marik since they’d
been separated a day ago.

Nadua didn’t know what to think about that.
She had wanted to talk to him about the Serakian thing, but she had
no idea what she would say. She should by happy about his
compliance to break the bond. Should be.

The constant debate in her head had kept her
up most of the night. It could have also been because she was in
her room alone. And though the bed was comfortable, it felt like
something was missing. A surly demon, perhaps.

Was he avoiding her?

Analia led her to their next stop on the
tour: The Demon’s Punchbowl. They had just come from the Sanctuary,
a mesmerizing wild garden that encompassed an entire deck of the
ship. Nadua had been brought to tears by the sight. Until then, she
had truly forgotten what a leaf looked like, the smell of
flourishing life, the soothing sound of trickling water.

Analia had understood what she was feeling
without even asking and allowed her to stay as long as she wanted.
They both sat on a tuft of grass and took it all in. Trees and
vines reached the ceiling, where false light provided warmth like a
sun. A small stream of water curved and crisscrossed with a walking
path.

It had reminded her of home. Evlon was a
lively planet. Green and lush. Almost no land was barren, but for a
few isolated spots. Nadua didn’t know how she survived so long
without it.

As they sat there, Analia had asked her
about her life, if she had been happy and well treated, obviously
hoping it was so. Nadua recanted her favorite memories. Memories of
Fineas, Wren, and Cyrus. Then how Ava came into her life and had
quickly become the main focus of her world.