Racing Hearts (Shadow Quest 4.5) (8 page)

Turned out an insane member of the
demon community was going around killing off his friends. Imported
alcohols had been used because a demon could easily detect poison
through taste in familiar drinks, but with previously unconsumed
substances that talent was nullified. Now, the simple ritual was a
sign of trust and friendship.

Sebastian raised his glass.

While he sipped his drink, Sonya downed
hers in one gulp, slamming her glass on the counter. “Good stuff,”
she declared.

Sebastian nodded his
agreement.

“So,” she continued. “We're stuck on
the ship for some time, I hear.” Again Sebastian nodded. “Well,
it'll be good for business.” Perking up, she poured herself another
shot.

Even though Sonya was much more lenient
with her pricing than the larger pubs in the space cities, whenever
they docked, she always lost her clientele to the more lavish
entertainment the cities provided.

She had made a profitable business out
of her pub, wisely saving for her own future. Not that she was
leaving her boys anytime soon.

Rather than use the ships funds, she
used pub profits to purchase whatever supplies she required,
leaving herself independent of her brothers. That seemed to be
important to her.

She also insisted on paying rent for
her space. Sebastian had refused, but Sonya was persistent, giving
him ten percent of her earnings each month. He saved everything she
gave him, planning to give it all back to her one day—which, if he
knew Sonya, would surely piss her off. Sebastian chuckled out loud
at that. When Sonya gave him a questioning look, he just shook his
head and went back to his drink.

“So what's the load this time?” she
asked.

“Don't know. Something very small. Too
small for the pay if you ask me. But the package is sealed and the
contract is void if we take even a peek.”

“Hey, sometimes the best things come in
small packages. Just look at me.” She did her best
I'm-just-a-cute-little-demon impression, which always made him
laugh. For a demon, Sonya was on the small side. So was Sebastian,
for that matter, though he still towered over her.

“You're right,” he said, ruffling her
long, black as pitch hair.

She bellowed out a curse in Demonish,
their native language, while swatting his hand away. Vainly, she
rushed to fix the disheveled mess. Her violet eyes blazed with
irritation, and a little amusement.

Sebastian continued to sip his drink
reflectively, as Sonya went about her business, refilling glasses
and seeing to anyone who entered.

He hoped the decision he had
made to accept this commission was the right one. Sonya's words
repeated in his mind. Whether the package was large or small, it
was significant to someone. Significant to a lot of someones, it
seemed. He couldn't help but wonder why they would trust
him
with it?

Finishing the last of his drink,
Sebastian waved his goodbye to Sonya. Calic would be in charge for
the next few hours so he had some time to kill before he took
command again. In the gym, he worked out some of his pent up
energy. A few hours later, he took a dip in the pool. Most days, he
hated his downtime. He always felt he should be doing something.
After the pool, he was relaxed and headed to his quarters for some
rest before it came time to relieve Cale.

Chapter 3

Nearly a full week had passed and all
was calm.

Sebastian had been working his crew
hard. Round the clock detail. Each day brought them closer to their
goal.

No one had complained. Everyone seemed
as eager as he to get this job over with. Maybe they sensed what he
did. There was something different about this commission. It was
taken more seriously by everyone. Even the most careless of the
crew were noticeably working harder.

Sebastian was at his command
center, checking the status of their progress. For the last
week,
Marada
's
engines had been churning at nearly constant full speed. It wasn't
fast enough. He had hoped to be farther along than this.

Sighing, he settled into his chair,
watching the vision of space at his front. It was stoic, calm, and
never ending—deadly, if you weren't careful.

He imagined how different his life
would be if he still lived on his home planet. If the war hadn't
destroyed it, and if he'd never been deceived by those closest to
him. He would have found a woman, he supposed, made a family. He
would have built them an adequate home on his ancestors’ land, and
he would have strove every day to keep it up. Life would have
been…boring.

As it was, he loved his adventurous
existence, leading his crew and meeting all the strange races of
the universe. Learning and mastering all the different languages
and cultures. It gave him a purpose.

A faint groan jarred him from his
thoughts, barely audible against the steady rumble of the ship, but
distinct. Sebastian looked around. No one else seemed to have heard
it.

Another moan, this one even
quieter…anguished. His brows drew together. He had definitely heard
something. He sniffed, again noticing something different in the
air. Had been for a while, but he hadn't thought much of
it.

He stood, concentrating on the source,
opening his ears to the smallest noise. All he heard was the hum of
the ship. But the sound had been very close. He thought it had come
from behind, but the only thing back there was the bulkhead and a
small maintenance compartment.

He approached the wall and stood
silent. A rasping sound came from the other side. He bent down to
open the door to the small compartment and staggered back in shock
as a pair of tiny bare feet came into view.

“Who's this?” he bellowed, his voice a
mix of threat and confusion. His horns heated as his body reacted
to the flood of demon rage.

The owner of the wee feet made no
move.

Sebastian bent closer, cautiously
placing his hand on a thin ankle. Still no movement. He began to
pull until a feminine body emerged from the small space.

The first thing he noticed was how thin
and frail she looked, as though she would break with a light
squeeze. She was marked with dirt from head to toe. A dingy, piece
of cloth clung to her like a second skin, barely covering
her.

He moved his gaze to her face. Her skin
was pale, but flawless. She had pouty lips, full and a tempting
shade of pink. Blond, curling locks draped over her bare
shoulders.

The female shivered.

“Who are you?” he ground
out, finally pulling himself from his stupor. He realized he was
holding her upper body in his arms. When
had he reached for her?

At his booming voice, her eyes flew
open. If he wasn't already on the ground, he would have fallen to
his knees. Sebastian was instantly lost. The ship fell away and
there was only her. The blue of her eyes was indescribable, so
light they unabashedly pulled him in. No color imaginable compared.
Her eyes turned pleading. For what? He didn't know. But at that
moment he would have given it to her.

What was wrong with him?

Too soon, the color dulled and her head
lolled before she slipped into unconsciousness. Sebastian, alarmed
more than he should have been, felt for a pulse.

Faint, but still there.

The natural sounds of the ship slammed
into him, as his surroundings came back into focus. Some of the
crew had already gathered around, apparently repeating questions he
hadn't heard them ask. They looked at him expectantly and at her
with curiosity.

Lifting her off the ground, Sebastian
took note of her weightlessness.

“Back to your posts!” he ordered, and
then carried her out of the room without another word.

The crew must have been as shocked as
he was to find this tiny creature, because none of them moved at
his command. He didn't care. His only focus was getting her to the
doctor. So he could find out how she was able to get onto his ship,
not so he could see the vivid color of her eyes again.

Racing down the hall, he hardly noticed
people stopped to stare at the stranger in his arms. The elevator
made him impatient, moving slower than he remembered. He should get
someone to look at it. Finally, he reached the deck that housed
sickbay. A few more passageways, and he was there. The doors parted
for him, and he carefully laid her on one of the cots.

From a desk in the corner of the room,
Dr. Oshwald looked up. He was a thin, lengthy man from one of the
short-lived races.

It seemed to take the doctor a moment
to comprehend the sudden disturbance before he rushed to
Sebastian's side surveying the situation. His jaw
dropped.

“Where…? Who is…?” He studied her as
Sebastian had, prickling his ire.

In a pointed voice, Sebastian replied,
“I don't know who she is. I just found her hiding in a maintenance
compartment. She looks on the brink of death.”

Dr. Oshwald went to work with a
skillful determination, while Sebastian leaned against the wall,
arms crossed, and watched.

The doctor came from a race of healers,
their unique gifts worked on most, but not all. Sebastian had no
knowledge of the mechanics behind the doctor's invaluable gift.
He'd asked him about it once and the doctor had told him that it
was like looking inside the body with his mind’s eye. Oshwald could
search out the problem and then fix it as needed.

That's what he was doing now, searching
through the female's body, all the while intermediately checking
her vitals in stony silence. Sebastian made his impatience known,
and the doctor finally began his healing touch, placing a hand near
her heart and the other at the crown of her head.

He stayed like that for a lengthy time.
The whole while, she didn't stir, didn't make a sound. The
breathing movements of her chest were light and barely
noticeable.

A sheen of sweat began to glisten on
the doctor's forehead. Finally, he removed his hands and slumped in
his chair with obvious exhaustion. With effort, he wiped his
forehead before he spoke. “She will live.” The words were heavy.
“If she'd been brought to me any later, there would have been
nothing I could have done for her.” Again he paused to catch his
breath. “Forgive me. She took much of my energy.”

Sebastian waited patiently for him to
continue at his own pace.

“I've healed her body, but she has been
without nourishment for a long time it seems.”

“Are you saying she was in there
starving to death?”

The doctor nodded.

“How long?”

“I couldn't say for sure. So many
different races, so many different dietary needs. We won't know
until she wakes and can answer for herself.”

Sebastian knew that many races could
survive long periods without food. A demon could go three or more
months without nourishment. You would have yourself an irritable
demon, but he would be alive. If this creature was anything like a
demon, she could have been hiding on his ship for
months.

As the doctor continued his business,
fury began to rise in Sebastian. Before, irrationally, he had felt
compassion for her. Now he had regained his senses and was livid at
her trespass. How dare she think to steal herself onto his ship?
Then a thought burned through him, settling deep in his
gut.

What of the
wards?

Analia fell in and out of
blurred consciousness, the muted grey maintenance compartment
tightening around her. She had waited too long and had run out of
time. Her body was giving up. She knew she had only two choices
ahead of her. Make her presence known within the tiny compartment,
or resign herself to death. At least it was
her
choice to make, and, though she
was dying, she basked in that thought. No matter what she chose,
her last action would be that of a free woman.

Inside the cramped box, she felt
herself trying to leave her body. But she fought it. Why? Death
would be so much easier. Suddenly, there was a warmth around her
ankle, and then strong arms around her torso. A voice called her
from the darkness. She sensed the presence of others with her, but
strangely she didn't feel threatened.

I must finally be
dead
.

As she opened her eyes, she saw the
most beautiful male she could have ever envisioned. He had the
blackest hair and a contrasting golden shade of eyes that shimmered
with some kind of emotion she was not familiar with.

His features were exquisite, and he was
so warm pressed against her freezing skin. She wanted to stay in
his arms forever. He must be a being of the afterlife, come to
guide her through death’s doors. Her body still hurt with a
lingering grasp of life, but that would soon be gone.

When the man began to fade, she begged
with everything she had left for him to stay with her. But he was
soon gone, a dark abyss taking his place.