Demon Slave (Shadow Quest Book 2) (3 page)

She shook the thought away and nearly laughed—while other parts of her seized on the idea. She firmly ignored those parts.

He’s quite possibly evil
.

Her body didn’t seem to care. But it had an excuse as to why it was being defiant. Seeing this male, fighting and winning against her greatest warriors, was one hell of a turn on. She supposed it didn’t help that she hadn’t been touched in centuries.

The last man she’d kissed had been a Cyrellian named Cyrus, Fineas’ brother. It was the silly act of two drunken friends. And though it had been painful, it was her most tender memory. A few days later, Cyrus had died, at the hands of the rebels no less. Nadua had been devastated. A few of his paintings still hung on a wall in her room.

Nadua wasn’t quite a virgin, but four hundred years out of practice, she might as well be.

Perhaps one of her maids from the castle could entice him, but by the looks of those burns on his skin, where the guards had handled him, he too couldn’t touch Cyrellian skin without pain. The guard that had removed his torn clothing and tied him up had complained that the beast was boiling to the touch.

What would his skin feel like to her?

She scolded herself. Not going to happen.

“
So, you claim you are seeking someone on my planet, but won’t tell me who, and expect me to earn your trust in order to find out.” Nadua couldn’t help the twitch in her lip. The demon matched her smirk, and her amusement was lost. She couldn’t imagine what business this demon had on Undewla that didn’t involve deception.

Perhaps he seeks a fallen brother
.

Unlikely, but plausible. Just after the war’s end, demon sightings had been frequent, even though what was left of the demon invaders had reportedly been chased off this planet. Sightings were rare these days, but every now and again a farmer from the outskirts would run to the nearest pub, shouting about a giant beast with fire red horns that had pilfered one of his animals. Most people just laughed it off.

Was it possible that a demon or two had been left behind when his comrades took flight so long ago? And if so, had this demon and his small group been attempting a rescue? It would explain why he didn’t want to reveal his target. And if that were the case, then he lied about not knowing demons had been here, and therefore he most definitely could not be trusted.

“
Rest up, demon, we have a long journey in the morning.”

“
Oh?”

“
I’m bringing you to my home, where you’ll have free room and board, maybe a meal or two, and your choice of the many cells in our prison. There you can think about the whole trust issue and who needs to be the one earning it.”

“
What a generous offer,” Marik replied with a roll of his eyes.

Actually, it sounded like a pretty good deal. A free ride into town. He wouldn’t need to wander around this wasteland trying to find life. Instead, she was going to lead him straight to it. Marik supposed he could stick around for a little while.

With an air of superiority, the bundle of fur left, speaking briefly with the two white-haired men in that strange language. In turn, they gave a small bow and then swung their angry faces toward him the moment she stepped out of sight.

Marik smiled and winked, causing their sneers to deepen.

That woman had mentioned demons coming here. Amazing that they would choose this place. Most likely, the group of demons who allegedly stumbled upon this frozen planet, and thought, “what a nice home that would make,” were desperate for some reason. The conditions on this planet weren’t suitable for anyone but perhaps these cold blue people. Any demon would have a hard time keeping oneself alive here, let alone thrive in a group.

He found himself wondering how Nadua was fairing on her own. She must have survived. Anya had sensed her just as they landed, right before the wave of blue attackers had interrupted their search. And from what Marik could tell, Anya was pretty accurate in her assumptions. It gave him much relief to know that once Anya was safely back with Sebastian, she would be able to help find him.

He had faith that Sebastian would succeed in rescuing her.
Sebastian must succeed
. If he didn’t—

Marik frowned, dismissing the twinge of panic that laced through him.

His thoughts were interrupted by an argument that had started between the two guards. They spoke in hurried whispers while pointing at him every so often. When one of them bent to inspect his bindings, Marik grew curious. The other opened the tent flap wide, as if to exit, giving him a perfect view of the bundle of fur just as she entered her own tent across the way. Then they were gone, leaving the crackle of the fire as Marik’s only companion.

Their strange behavior left him with brows drawn, staring into the flames. Their leader’s position was revealed. Did they intend for him to see where she slept? Though the one had fiddled with Marik’s ropes, the bindings didn’t feel any tighter or more secure. He could still break them with a twist of his wrist.

If these people had known demons in battle, they must know how strong his kind could be. They couldn’t be so ignorant as to think this meager rope could hold him.

Unless they wanted him to break free.

Now that he thought of it, those guards had been standing farther away from the woman than Marik had been. If he’d wanted her throat, he could have had it before they would have had a chance to react. Any guard worth his weight wouldn’t have allowed a situation like that, even if the incredibly dangerous demon was properly secured.

Marik didn’t really care if her guards wanted her dead or not. She was of no use to him anyway, if all she wanted to do was lock him up. But he wasn’t going to be the one to end her life. Pockets of his past flashed in his mind, images of the arena. He fought the memories back.

No, he wouldn’t kill her. Not unless she gave him a pretty damn good reason. And because she was unwittingly doing him a favor by bringing him to civilization, where he could begin the search for Nadua, he needed her alive for the time being.

He also suspected that he was still alive because of her. She only wanted answers, but he figured he owed her, at least a little.

* * *

A kick to his still-tender leg had Marik growling into consciousness. He bared his fangs at the offender, who scurried back. Behind the man, seven fully loaded guards stood ready. One of them came forward to cut Marik free from the stake.

Marik stretched his arms and their bodies went tense as they strained their weapons toward him.

“
Look, I don’t need any more holes in me. It’ll just piss me off.”

The men exchanged sideways glances, clearly not understanding.

Marik rested one arm on his knee and leaned back against the wooden stake. “Is something happening here? Or are we posing for a picture?” His shirt was tossed to him, and he caught it in mid-flight. “What? No seamstress?” He fingered one of the many tears. “I have a mind to lodge a complaint.”

One of the men yelled something, urging him with a flick of his bow to put it on. When he did, the same man continued barking out orders. Though he didn’t know what was being said, it didn’t take a genius to figure out they wanted him up and out of the tent.

As he exited, five more guards were ready for him outside. “I’m flattered boys, but you’re still a little understaffed.” Marik glanced around. Everyone was packing up. Most of the tents were already disassembled.

Across camp, the walking rug caught his attention. She was kneeling next to an obscenely large brown animal with an angular leather face, filling a sack with supplies. The animal was twice her size in height, thick legs held up its massive body. On further study, he noted the beast sported fur like the woman’s cloak.

For some reason, Marik grew alarmed when the giant’s long neck twisted and its head came toward her, but it only pushed at her with its snout, as if being playful. She laughed as she went tumbling, and gently swatted its nose.

Marik wanted to watch her more, but a sharp point pressed into his back, while the guards in front of him parted. Ahead sat a small caged wagon, attached to another one of those large fuzzy beasts, this one with coarse gray fur.

“
Great, I get the nearly dead oversized varmint.”

A flare of unease rippled through Marik. Being caged was one of the many horrors from his past. He’d sworn never to let it happen again. But with more than a dozen armed warriors ready to pounce if he showed any resistance, Marik forced his feet forward.

He flicked the metal with his nail and noted the sound of low-quality workmanship. Gods, these people were making it too easy.

Lifting himself with the help of one of the top metal bars, he slipped inside the tiny entrance feet first and the door was closed behind him. “Don’t I get a pillow or something? These accommodations are a little bare for my taste. And if you were wise, you’d get the hungry demon some breakfast.”

Ignoring him, the guards went about their business, secure in the thought that Marik wasn’t going anywhere. He slumped against the bars, and quietly observed his captors.

What was left of the camp was torn down and stored within various wagons. Whenever an order was shouted, Marik paid attention to how it was carried out. Already he was beginning to learn certain words, associating them with the actions.

Marik craned his neck to see what that woman was up to, but she was gone, and so was her creature. A bit later, close to the edge of the gnarled woods, Marik caught sight of the two guards from the night before, speaking far away from the rest of the group. He didn’t like that.

Before long, they were on the move. His ride was bumpy and he made the inconvenience known, but of course no one understood him. They wouldn’t have paid any attention if they could.

Around midday, pellets of snow began to drift in the air.

At the same time, a familiar ragged beast trotted up beside him, with an equally ragged body riding atop it. “Morning, demon. How fare you?”

“
I’m dandy, how polite of you to ask. Could use a fresh set of clothes, and hot meal though.”

“
Oh, absolutely, I’m here to serve. Would you like to look at a menu?”

“
If you’ve got one.”

“
I’ll get right on that, right after you give me the truth of your intentions here.”

She rocked slightly as the beast kept pace, and Marik could almost make out the shape of her body under all that mess. His shaft took note as well. He’d obviously been far too long without a woman if that mere hint of a female form was turning him on.

“
If you don’t believe what I’ve said already, then I don’t know what to tell you. Anything else I say would be a lie just to get what I want.” He paused, waiting for a response. When he didn’t receive one, he continued in a sarcastic tone. “Fine, here goes. My friends and I hail from a galactic-fun-ship, and we came to this planet in order to fill it with candy and cheese.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Cute. I don’t even know why I tried. The deception of your kind is legendary.”

“
Have you actually met one of my kind?”

“
Aside from you? No. But you’ve already proven the stories to be true.”

Marik couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that.

They rode in stony silence for a moment. The only sound was from the crunch of snow, and heavy snort-breathing from the weird, furry monster. Its wrinkled gray face was the only part that wasn’t covered in tangled brown fur.

“
What’s that thing you ride?”

“
This is an edisdon.

“
It smells.”

“
It’s not that bad. Edisdons are a traveler’s companion of choice. They’re strong, and can endure long trips in the harshest weather. They don’t eat much and their fur keeps them as warm as they need to be.” The woman scratched the edisdon’s neck. “And she’s loyal. Aren’t you, Sweetie?”

“
She? It looks too ugly to be a girl.”

She covered what must be its ears. “Shh, you’ll hurt her feelings.”

“
Oh, forgive me. Let me amend. She’s dazzling in her dreadlock do, her step, so light and dainty.”