Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (17 page)

Balthazar was unconscious, his b
loody, broken, body supported between Tavi and Arastoo on either side of him.  Kaveh stood, rushing over to help the two hold him up.  Just as he reached him, a horn sounded in the distance.  An alarm, calling all guards to their posts.  They were caught.

“You must leave now,” Arastoo said, handing his side of the demon prince over to K
aveh.  “I will do what I can to stall them.”

“Where is Nila?” Kaveh demanded. 

“She will remain here,” Arastoo said, the anger of his daughter being involved clear in his voice.  “In the harem, where she belongs.”

“I will not leave without her,” Kaveh said, his jaw tense.  Tavi was surprised by the declaration.  He had never suspected Kaveh to have such deep feelings for her.

“She will be safe here, brother,” Tavi said, trying to calm Kaveh.  He needed help to carry the unconscious Balthazar, and the Alex certainly wouldn’t be much help with such a thing. 

“I will not leave without her,” Kaveh growled out again, baring his fangs.

“Kaveh,” Tavi said sharply, “We need you.  Nila will be fine.”

Kaveh was surprised himself by the strong emotions he felt for Nila.  What had begun as a scheme to steal the throne from Balthazar had unraveled into
love.  He did not want to leave Nila, not because he was worried for her safety, he knew she would be fine.  There was nothing to implicate her in the escape.  Now that Arastoo was involved, any magic use would be attributed to him.  He knew what needed to be done, and that was getting Balthazar and the human out of the palace and away from Ashdad.

“If
she is harmed,” Kaveh said, his voice low.  He left the threat unspoken.  It was clear to everyone the feelings he felt for her, and what his reaction would be if she was harmed. 

“She will be alright,” Carolina said to Kaveh.  “I will remain
here and look to her safety.”

“No,” Alex protested.  She did not want to leave without the lady. 
Even though Tavi would be with her, Balthazar was unconscious and she just didn’t trust Kaveh.

“My place is here, Alexandra,” Carolina said.  She had never had any intentions of leaving with them.  In her whole life, she had never left the palace complex, and rarely left the harem.  She did not want to go traipsing about the countryside if she did not have to.  She wasn’t the least bit worried of being punished.  There was no evidence linking her to this, although she was sure Ashdad would know right away that she was involved. 

“But…” Alex began to protest.

“There is no time, Alexand
ra,” Carolina cut in.  “You must leave now.  The guards are already on the alert.  It wont take them much longer to find us.”

“She is right,” Tavi said. 
“We must leave now, Alexandra.”

Arastoo stepped forward, claspi
ng his hands together, and beginning to chant.  A swirl of blue light formed around him and as he continued to chant, the light grew brighter and larger.  It grew to engulf the small group.  A flash of light momentarily blinded Alex and when she regained her sight, she was standing in a field, the royal palace in the distance, with Kaveh and Tavi next to her holding Balthazar.

“
We must move quickly,” Tavi said.  “I know a place we can find refuge.”

“H
old Prince Balthazar,” Kaveh said to Tavi.  “I will carry the human.”

“Oh no, I’m not letting you touch me,” Alex said, shaking her head.

“Alexandra,” Kaveh said, as he handed Balthazar over to Tavi.  “Now is not the time.”

He held his hand out to Alex.  She looked cauti
ously at it, and back to Tavi, reluctant to take it.

“I apologize,” Kaveh said with a sigh.  “My previous behavior was less than appropriate.”

“Yeah,” Alex said, “it was.”

“Alexandra,” Tavi cut it, “I promise you, I will allow nothing untoward to happen to you.  Balthazar would kill all of us if I did.  Now, allow Kaveh to carry you, or Ashdad will kill us all.”

Alex reluctantly took Kaveh’s outstretched hand.  She knew they were right.  Now was not the time to be arguing about such things.  Kaveh scooped her up, tossing her on his back.  Alex felt the familiar nauseating jerk of demonic speed and closed her eyes against the sensation.

It was late into the night when they finally stopped to rest.  Alex was exhausted and achy from being carried for hours.  Kaveh was a much bumpier ride than Balthazar.  She could see the exhaustion in the other two demons as they panted lightly, the sweat dripping from them as they tried to catch their breath.  Balthazar was still out, and Tavi could sense the worry in Alexandra’s worry.

“He will be ok,” T
avi said, trying to comfort her, even though he knew is words might not be true.

“What happened to him?” Alex asked.  There hadn’
t been much time earlier to ask about it, but it had weighed heavy on her mind since they had left.

“I am no
t entirely sure,” Tavi said, setting him down on the grass.  “He was in a bad state when we found him.  His beast was in control.”

“I will go collec
t some wood,” Kaveh interrupted them.  He would rather not join in the conversation.  He was still upset about Nila staying behind.  “We should get a fire going.  The night will be cold.”

“Where are we going?” Alex asked Tavi
, after Kaveh disappeared.  Her eyes were locked onto Balthazar, her worry over him still apparent.

“There is a village, another day’s jour
ney from here,” Tavi said.  “The village master is loyal to Balthazar.  I have no doubt he will give us shelter until we can find a way to overthrow Ashdad.”

“Do you mean Temel?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Tavi said, a little surprised she knew the name.  He found that Alexandra was constantly surprising him.  “How did you know?”

“Before,” she explained, “I went there with Balthazar, when we found the phoenix.”

“I see,” Tavi said.

Kaveh returned with a small bundle of twigs and branches.  He got to work starting a fire, making spark with a couple
rocks and nursing it into a flame.  It wasn’t long before they had a raging campfire going and they settled into a comfortable silence.  Alex lay down on the cold grass, cushioning her head with her hands.  She was on the brink of sleep when she heard a low growl emanating from Tavi.  Her eyes popped open to see both her demon escorts on their feet, looking into the night around them.

“Come out,” Tavi said
, still searching for the intruders that his ears had caught approaching.  Whoever they were, their scent was hidden and that worried both Tavi and Kaveh.

Alex could hear a scuffling sound, and then a pair of familiar faces emerged from the darkness.

“Nila,” Kaveh said, seeing the demoness he loved and rushing to her side.

“Yashmina,” Tavi said in barely more than a whisper, as if he was unsure whether she was really there or not.  She smiled shyly up at him.  It had been so long since she had seen him, and she was a little afraid he would
have forgotten about her.  When Nila had come to her, she didn’t even want to welcome her into her apartment.  But the young demoness had explained what was going on, and asked Yashmina to come with her.  The thought of seeing Tavi again, and that he still remained faithful to her, had made her heart soar.

“
What are you doing here?” Kaveh asked Nila, taking her hands in his.  It was such a touching moment that Alex just watched, wishing she could have the same reunion with Balthazar.  There was so much she needed to ask him.  It was killing her inside that he was not yet awake.

“I was not going to let you go without me,” Nila said, a smile creeping across her face.

“But you could have been caught,” Kaveh said. 

“I have plenty of experience sneaking out of the palace,” Nila said with a sly giggle.  Kaveh wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body, hugging her tightly.  He hadn’t wanted to admit it to anyone, but despite her father’s assurance, he was still worried for her.  Ashdad was quickly
being revealed as a maniac, and he didn’t want her anywhere near him or his palace.

“I am glad you are here,” Kaveh whispered into her silky silver hair, and she hugged him tightly back.

“I don’t understand,” Tavi said, his eyes locked on Yashmina.  “Why can I not scent either of you?”

“Oh,” Yashmina said, with a small smile.  She lifted a necklace over her head and her
delicious scent instantly hit Tavi.  “Nila had these.  There are guards all over the lands surrounding the palace.  These hid our scent from them, and allowed us to find you without leaving a scent trail.”

“Your father will not be happy about this,” Kaveh said, pulling back from Nila
to look at her.

“Father is never happy,” Nil
a said with a wave of her hand.  She moved away from Kaveh and came over to Alex, giving her a hug. 

“I’m glad you’re
here,” Alex said, looking over at Yashmina, “You too.”

“It has been sometime since we have seen each other,” Yashmina said, “I am glad you have returned.”

“Me too,” Alex said with a smile. 

“We should
all rest,” Kaveh said.  “We will have a long journey tomorrow.”

The small group hunkered down, curling up next to the slowly dying fire.  Nila and Yashmina curled up in the arms of the men they loved, happy to be reunited with them.  Alex settled in next to Balthazar, hoping that he would soon wake.  She had torn off a small piece of the bottom of her robe to clean
some of the blood from his handsome face.  It wasn’t long before sleep claimed them all.

Balthazar was mesmerized by the sight of Alexandra, sleeping so peacefully with her mouth slightly ajar.  She was everything he didn’t need in a mate.  She was clumsy, defiant, unrefined.  But she was everything he wanted.  He had tried to separate himself from her.  He tried to break the bond.  But his beast had quickly taken over his consciousness, in a rage at the simple thought of never being able to hold her again.  He didn’t know how she had managed to do it, but she had completely and utterly captured his heart in the short time that he had known her.  And though his mind told him that it was better to leave her alone, for both of their own good, his heart simply would not allow such a thing.  His beast would rather kill him than live without Alexandra.  He reached out to brush a piece of raven hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.  Her emerald eyes slowly fluttered open at the contact.

“
Balthazar,” she breathed softly, sitting up, “you’re awake.”

“Yes,” he said, a half smile formed on his lips, the pea
rly tip of his fang popping out on one side.

There was such a peculiar look in his eyes as he squatted before her, looking down at her.  Alex couldn’t quite pinpoint what, but there was definitely something different about him.  He was completely healed from the wounds he had suffered, but there was a strange twinkle in his eyes. 
A peacefulness that she hadn’t noticed in him before.  The question she had wondered hung in her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask it.

“Are you ok?
” she asked him instead.  His hand came up, cradling her face as he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. 

“I am now,” he said. 
The simple gesture told her everything she needed to know, and peace washed over her. 

“Lord Balthazar,” Tavi said, waking up and seeing his older brother now awake.  The others too began to stir awake.  Balthazar dropped his hand
from Alex’s cheek, standing and turning to face the others around the campfire.

“We must leave,” Balthazar said.  “The
palace guards will be here soon.”

“Are you alright, brother?” Tavi asked
.  He had not expected Balthazar to make such a miraculous recovery.  Arastoo had warned him that he would likely not remember anything, if he even woke up at all. 

“I have never been better,” Balthazar said.  He had experienced
a clarity during his ordeal that he had never known before.  Being in a state of beast control was an utterly primal experience.  He had been aware of everything that was going on around him, and more.  Though he had lost control of his body, his mind had never been sharper.  He had a deeper understanding of things.  He knew of the problems plaguing the palace, even more than the others knew.  His beast had a consciousness that reached further than he could imagine, knew more than what was just on the surface. 

“Then I guess we should get going,” Tavi said. 

Their pace was not as rapid as the night before and Alex was able to watch some of the landscape as they passed through it.  But the further they went, the more Alex noticed that something was very wrong.  The lush fields and vast forests that she had seen on her last visit were gone.  Replaced by barren earth and clumps of dead trees.  She wasn’t the only one to notice the change either, and the Devasi demons knew this was not the way their land should be.  There were some disturbing changes happening in their environment.