Demon Retribution (46 page)

As Anya’s magic continued to flow, she
reached to connect with Nadua. Their energies circled and brushed
up against each other, posturing and getting acquainted. Then it
combined into one swirling mass, and she sucked in a breath. She
opened her eyes, but her vision was no longer her own. Images
whizzed by, nearly making her dizzy. It was as if she were viewing
a hundred films on fast forward while running past the screens at
lightning speed.

Suddenly, time folded in on itself.

Everything melted into nothing and then
reformed like cooling metal from a forge. The process repeated
until nothing was recognizable.

Layer by layer, her sense of self peeled
back like a rose in bloom. The petals withered and fell, stripping
her to the soul. The last layer was the one that defined her as a
being and soon that was gone as well.

The glow of the suns lapped at her essence,
and she breathed it in. As she exhaled, she felt herself falling,
churning and whirling down, like riding an open drain. At the
bottom, she found a spark of light. It was pulling her in. Sucking
her down. The pressure was immense.

An extreme noise flooded her ears as she
squeezed out the other side. A thick pool of dark silence greeted
her as well as an infinite pattern of lines, spread out in all
directions, crossing and merging and breaking apart.

Her essence shot forward, scattering like a
million beads. She saw everything and nothing. Her rational mind
worked to piece it all together.

Overwhelmed and confused, she felt as though
she were on the edge insanity. Mentally, she cried, “Stop!”

At the simple order, everything shuddered
and slowed to a crawl. She looked back. At the end of a long
tunnel, she saw the cliff where her body stood. Beyond that, ships
hovered, frozen in mid-action. A dragon posed in the sky with its
wings tucked in, mid-dive, but it didn’t move.

She faced the nebulous, seeking other
entities, but she seemed to be alone. All was obscure except for
the tangling lines. They glowed in a warm rainbow of colors. Some
appeared brighter and trailed freely, while others were dim and
clung like a weaving vine.

Her attention focused on a particular
cluster where a dark line wrapped tightly around a set of bright
ones, leaching energy.

Recognition sparked.

She reached out, and the second she did, her
essence was sucked in, forced to follow the darkened vine like a
speeding train. An instant later, she came to a halt in the middle
of a strange room.

Somehow she knew where she was. Understood
instantly that the handsome face of the man crouched over a large
desk was the face of the Kayadon who had started it all.

Though young and handsome, his features were
gaunt, drawn tight with exhaustion and regret. His sorrow melted
into her and became her own. Its crushing weight ate at her,
consuming hope like an unquenchable thirst.

Disheveled papers lay over his desk. Tomes
lined shelves that took up two full walls. This once great
scientist sat defeated—the destroyer of his people. He ran thick
fingers through his slick black hair and hung his head.

The door burst open and another dark-haired
man entered, alarm painted across his lightly tanned face. “Our
people can no longer shift,” he announced. “We need a cure.
Now!”

“My research is at an end,” the scientist
replied in an unsteady voice. “There is no cure.”

“People are dying!”

The scientist shot to his feet, rage joining
the overwhelming sense of failure. “I know people are dying! There
is nothing I can do!”

Kyra realized then that neither of these men
still lived.

The scene shifted.

A great swarm of ships jetted toward an
evening sky, vibrating the ground. Plumes of exhaust choked the
fertile, yet withering, land. Every grain of sand left behind was
tainted by the plague that swept through the Kayadon— a plague that
had decimated a third of the population in a matter months.

A vaccine had slowed the process for a lucky
few, and in a desperate attempt to find a cure, the survivors set
off for lands unknown.

Kyra rode along in fast-forward as they
approached planet after planet, bargaining for help and, in some
cases, unwittingly infecting those who would provide it. Every time
they moved on, desperation grew as madness claimed the minds of
many.

They happened upon the demon planet and
found them immune. Hope reigned for a time. The Kayadon bartered
for test subjects, with outlandish promises: riches, technology,
and secrets of the universe. But when the demons discovered the
atrocities performed in the name of science, they rebelled,
resulting in a war that shattered the planet and divided not one,
but two nations. Many of the Kayadon were growing weary, and the
brass action against the demons was met with outrage. Those who
spoke up were culled with callous regard, silencing further
protests.

And the search continued.

They discovered Evlon soon after. It was
quickly surmised that if a cure existed, it would be here. The suns
flooded the land with magic that all but stopped the plague in its
tracks. Kayadon leaders, deformed by the sickness growing inside
them, gathered to discuss the best course. Wanting to avoid another
war that might ruin their last salvation, they devised a hasty
takeover.

A swift evacuation of a handful of
inhabitants was surprising, but inconsequential. These creatures
who called themselves Faieara had but one leader to overthrow, and
it was done with few casualties.

The Faieara were easy enough to control
after the surrender of their king. Labs were erected and research
resumed. The occasional rebellion, whether Kayadon or Faieara born,
was easily squelched. Meanwhile, the plague progressed without a
lasting cure, and the Kayadon continued to succumb, their numbers
dwindling. Their leaders pressed on, convinced they would soon be
saved.

Her magic stirred, and she was propelled
back into her body with a painful snap, like that of a rubber band.
The noises of destruction slammed against her eardrums. She sensed
a ship closing in, targeting them. The others noticed it too.

Still fighting a wave of Kayadon, Sebastian
screamed over the rumbling, “Stop that ship!”

Kyra could see it all as though part of her
was still out of her body.

Shifting to his dragon form, Mar launched
into the air, disturbing the dirt with his powerful wings. His sons
quickly followed, dodging a barrage of gunfire from the craft. They
latched onto the ship’s hull, ripping into the metal with their
claws. The ship veered right as the pilot tried to shake its load.
Sputtering and spewing black smoke, it lost control and disappeared
over the cliff, taking the dragons with it. Moments later, a boom
shook the ground.

She felt Ethan’s magic then. The creature
within her greedily furrowed around it, taking it in and reveling
in the enhanced power.

The circle had been closed, their magic
linked.

With a carnal sound, magic exploded in all
directions. It swirled and stretched, expanding for miles, arching
high as though to reach out into space. It tasted the air, touched
every leaf, and sensed more magic for which to ease its hunger.

But there was a job to do.

Kyra’s first thought was to rein it in.
That’s what she had done her entire life—struggled to contain the
massive power that burrowed deep inside. But if she held back now,
all would be lost.

She let out a long breath and let go.

The moment the leash
snapped, another blast of power erupted in a volcano of energy.
Once again, she left her body, flowing over the land as if she’d
merged with the magic. No. That was wrong. She
was
the magic. Suddenly, it made
sense. All this time she hadn’t been fighting a creature that lived
within. She had been fighting herself. The magic was neither good
nor evil, merely an extension her.

The revelation took the span of a second.
She gazed out at the battle seeing it from a hundred different
angles. Many of her people had joined the fight. Azule was in the
crowd, along with his guild. Some Kayadon too had taken up arms
against their own kind. Curious, the magic reached inside them,
finding the same thing it had discovered in Ginn.

A spark of goodness.

She now knew what had to be done, and she
was unafraid.

Cale sliced through yet another Kayadon, but
the bastards kept coming. They poured from the forest like a flood.
It was as if they knew this was where Kyra would be. The thought
made him strike out harder as his next victim rushed forward.

Thankfully, none of them wielded those
debilitating guns. He hadn’t had time to consider why, he’d just
grabbed the nearest fallen sword and joined the fray.

The dragons had not returned from their ride
over the cliff, and their absence was felt. The Kayadon were
gaining ground.

He, Marik, Rex, and Sebastian formed a line
at the bottleneck of the plateau, holding back their foes with guns
and blades. Sonya fell back, aiming her gun to take out any
creature that managed to slither past.

Suddenly, a heavy whoosh of air pushed at
his back—a pulse spreading outward. The Kayadon momentarily
stilled, considering the disturbance. Their creatures paused as
well and tilted their ugly heads. A sinister smile curled Cale’s
lips. Kyra was about to unleash her gift.

A couple of Kayadon, with better sense than
the rest, began backing away. The rest surged forward as if
realizing their time was short. He raised his arm to block a stray
sword blow and metal cut deep into his forearm. As blood trickled,
he wrenched his blade through the neck of his attacker and kicked
its body back, throwing three other Kayadon off balance.

“Kyra!” he yelled. “What’s the holdup?” He
didn’t get a chance to glance her way. Two gnarled creatures leapt
on him. The first sank its fangs into his shoulder, clinging to him
with lengthy limbs. The other came for his jugular, but in
mid-leap, the creature’s head exploded in a burst of gore. What was
left of the remains fell and twitched at his feet.

Sonya snapped, “Cale, get it together!” Then
she continued shooting into the crowd of Kayadon. She swung around
and took out a group of Kayadon as they lunged at Marik.

Cale’s teeth gnashed together as he ripped
the first creature off him and snapped its neck before tossing it
away. “You get it together! That shot was a little too close to my
head.”

Sonya laughed, but didn’t reply.

“What are they doing back there?” he
asked.

She glanced at the Faieara. “They’re holding
hands. Maybe they’re praying for a quick death.”

Just then, a blast packed with intense power
catapulted him forward. For a moment, he thought a bomb had landed.
Fear for Kyra engulfed him. When he hit the ground, a heavy current
of air continued to push him over the rough gravel. As the
windstorm eased, he lifted his head in search of Kyra, but in her
place blazed a blinding light.

“What the hell is that?” Marik barked. He
too had been knocked down. In fact, they all had fallen, Kayadon
included. To his left, Ginn lay on his side, rendered unconscious.
The thick vine-rope was still tight around his arms and torso.

Sebastian pulled himself off the ground and,
for the first time, noted Ginn. He raised a quizzical brow at
Cale.

“That one belongs to Kyra,” Cale informed
him.

Sebastian replied with a look that said,
“You have got to be kidding."

Marik noticed the light had swallowed Nadua
and darted toward her, looking as though he would dive in and pull
her to safety.

Cale motioned him back. “I don’t suggest
getting too close to that.” He turned to where the Kayadon were
slowly rising and prepared for another assault. But instead of
attacking, their gazes transfixed on the sky. Cale tilted his eyes
upward. His jaw dropped.

Above them, blue and white electric tendrils
scatted over a massive translucent bubble that stretched out a
great distance. He couldn’t tell where it touched the ground. The
air became dense and difficult to breath. The total lack of a
breeze was disconcerting.

Confusion swept over the Kayadon. Some of
them retreated into the forest, while other stood and stared.

“What’s going on?” Sonya demanded.

They all looked at Cale as if he held the
answer. He shrugged. “This is new.”

A thunderous clap rang out with a prolonged,
ominous echo. The vibration moved through his bones.

Then it happened.

A nearby group of Kayadon began to
disintegrate. Cale made sure to catch the look in their eyes before
they were reduced to dust, relishing every second of their terror.
Then a few more Kayadon were taken, and Cale enjoyed that just as
much as the first.