Demon Untamed (2 page)

Sebastian addressed the pirate. “Is this some kind of trick? We've followed your directions. Why are you not here?”

“Well, we've moved, of course,” Ethanule drawled, as if that wasn’t clear to everyone.

“Obviously.” Sonya shifted her stance, resting a hand on her hip.

The pirate quirked a brow and openly scanned the length of her body. Cale stood to his full height, and Sebastian moved to block the bastard’s view of both her and Anya.

Sonya pushed him aside and brazenly crossed her arms in challenge, flicking her tail.

“Nice tail.” Ethanule smirked.

Sonya whipped her tail again, irritated, and held his stare with equal contempt.

“What's your game, pirate?” Cale snapped.

Ethanule replied with a wave of his hand, “There's no game. The move was unavoidable. You'll see when you get here. I'm sending you a secure signal. Trace it. I'll expect you soon.”

The screen switched off.

Sonya coughed in disgust. “What a pompous ass!”

“Well, that pompous ass is going to get us our pay and get these wards down so we can get the fuck off this ship already,” Cale replied.

“Captain,” Aidan, the pilot, called from his console. “I have a trace on the signal. I'd say we can be there in two hours.”

Sebastian replied, “Good, let's finish this. Approach cautiously. Keep your eyes open for anything.”

Anya turned toward Sonya and mouthed, “He looked nice.”

“Sweetie,” Sonya replied, eyeing both Anya and Sebastian, “your record with men is one-in-zero, and your taste is questionable.” She ignored Sebastian’s humph, but couldn’t do the same with the crude gesture he gave her. She returned the gesture before continuing. “Trust me, that pirate has one hell of an ego on him.”

Cale interjected, “His ego couldn't possibly be bigger than yours.”

“Bite me, Cale.”

“Not if you were the last female left in the universe.” He feigned gagging.

She rolled her eyes as she tossed a lewd gesture his way.

Aidan followed the pirate’s directions until a thick field of space debris appeared outside the window. The control room became quiet as they all watched Aidan weave the ship through a cloud of scattered rocks and boulders. The boulders grew larger and larger, until they were as big, if not bigger, than
Marada
itself.

Asteroid fields were havens for pirates, who would hide their ships among the space junk and attack unwitting crafts that passed by.

“I think we're here,” Aidan declared, bringing
Marada
to a halt.

Sonya scanned the area, but spotted no ship, nor a space-port, only more asteroids, the largest of which drew her attention. She narrowed her gaze on a suspicious notch in the rock that appeared to have been manufactured. It was big enough to fit a ship three times
Marada’s
size.

“His base is inside an asteroid?” Sonya gaped at the sheer size of the thing, then scoffed.

A fitting lair for pirate scum
.

Asteroids were considered the trash of the universe.

Aidan guided the ship past the opening into a well-lit docking bay gleaming with smooth surfaces. He set the ship down with only a slight thud.

The vibration of heavy grinding reverberated through the room, indicating the thick metal wall closing behind them. Loud hissing followed as the enclosure sealed and pressurized.

Then there was silence.

“Alright,” Sebastian said. “Let's go. Anya stays behind me. The rest follow behind her.”

Sonya pushed past the assembly of crewmen and positioned herself beside Anya. Aidan and Cale took up the rear, with Cale carrying the parcel intended for delivery.

As Sonya glared at the small box, a strong sense of foreboding crawled over her skin. Whatever resided inside the package held the interest of this notorious faction of pirates, and that couldn’t be good for anyone. She wished Sebastian had refused the contract.

After the group descended the ship’s ramp, two grim looking males with light colored hair and deeply tanned skin greeted them. Sonya recognized their race instantly. Denaloid: a unisexual breed where males took on the role of mother and father. Females did not exist.

From what Sonya knew, it was unusual for Denaloids to give loyalty a leader not of their kind, and Ethan was no Denaloid. The Pirate King must truly be no ordinary pirate—probably much more ruthless than she could even imagine.

The men didn’t speak, merely gestured for them to follow. They headed into a dim cavern carved into the rock, dirt, and ice of the asteroid core.

A string of lights hung garishly along one side of the cave, illuminating their way. Sonya’s boots crunched against bits of loose rock that covered the floor.
Only monsters could live in a hovel like this
.

The two guards led them through a maze of dark passages until they reached a brightly lit room. The ceiling arched high above, and guards lined the walls. Sonya counted twenty, taking note of where on their person they might be concealing weapons.

Against the farthest side of the room, Ethanule sat on that same ridiculous chair she’d seen on screen. She suppressed a scoff at the ostentatiousness of it, and then narrowed her eyes.

There was something about him, here in person, that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something that spiked an odd degree of curiosity and made her heart flutter, but not in fear.

She scrutinized him further, tilting her head to one side.

The arrogance was there, of course, on display and unabashed. He seemed to wear it like a second skin. Only now the air around him sizzled with deadly menace, making the hair on her neck stand up—or was that just the disturbing fact that she found him somewhat…handsome?

She clenched her jaw.

The pirate raked his gaze over the group, lingering briefly on Anya, then Sonya, then finally the package in Cale's arms.

His expression lit up. “Thank you. Your services are much appreciated. You have no idea how important these are to me.”

These?

That sense of foreboding returned.

Sebastian replied, “You're welcome. I trust the wards were taken care of when we entered?”

“Of course, of course. There is nothing to worry about.”

“I assume that our pay is ready as well?” Clearly, Sebastian wanted to get out of here as badly as she did.

Ethanule’s lips curled upward, revealing a subtle air of malevolence. Behind her ribcage, her heart called out a stuttered warning.

Too late.

“Bastian, the guards!” Anya cried.

Sebastian bellowed before crumbling to the ground, a tiny dart stuck in his neck.

The fury of the Edge flared as pure rage gushed through Sonya’s veins, providing a concentrated burst of adrenalin. Her fangs descended, aching to sink into the flesh of her brother’s attacker. Clear thought drained away as she now relied on instinct.

She snatched a hidden dagger from inside her boot and sprinted headlong for Ethanule. A guard threw himself in her way, but she planted her heal hard in his chest and booted him into two of his comrades, sending the three of them to the ground.

Without slowing, she leapt into the air and twirled her body in a wide arc over a group of forward-rushing Denaloids, landing on the other side of them, still zeroed in on her target.

Through her murderous haze, she reveled at the surprise coating Ethanule’s expression.

Unexpectedly, her vision blurred, darkening around the edges as if she peered through a tunnel. She ignored it as she lashed out and another guard fell at her feet, clutching his neck to hold back his blood. From nowhere, a long sword cut the air toward her. Bowing backward, she caught her reflection in the face of the blade as it hovered over her in a near miss. Red eyes blazed back at her. Her horns had never burned so bright.

Before the Denaloid could pull the sword back for another strike, she leashed her tail around his wrist and pulled him forward. He let out a staggered cry as her knee made nice with his face, knocking him unconscious.

She scanned for Ethanule. The bastard hadn’t even bothered to move? As if he had no doubt she would never reach him.

She started for him again, but stumbled. Her heart pounded in her skull as though it was housed there instead of her chest. A sickening wave of dizziness followed.

They must have darted her.

The thought fed her fury, and she fought against the coursing poison, vowing she would have her kill before she succumbed.

Just before she reached Ethanule, he rose from his seat. She tightened her grip on the hilt of her weapon and stabbed at him. With too much ease, he sidestepped her maneuver, and she cursed her weakened state.

His hand slipped around her wrist, and with the slightest tilt of his fist, the dagger fell from her sluggish fingers. A wave of exhaustion assailed her.

Black seeped over her vision. When she forced her eyelids open, he was towering above her, his face too close to hers. Was he holding her up?

She gnashed her teeth and growled, but the sound was not as terrifying as intended. The poison had won.

Her last conscious thought was meant for Sebastian.
I told you so.

Ethan gazed down at the black haired female demon in his arms. He’d managed to catch her before the sedative had sent her crashing to the ground. Why had he even bothered? The wench had taken out four of his men and wounded three others.

Her horns still glowed with the fury her kind called the Edge. Amazing. He never could have imagined it would take a triple dose to subdue such a tiny thing.

He plucked free the two darts in her right arm and the one in her left hip.

He may have just tranqued her team for now, but that didn’t mean they were saved from death. That would depend if they were the ones the king had warned him of.

Before Ethan had set out on his mission to find the Faieara princesses, King Alastair informed him of the terrible fate that had befallen Princess Analia. Naturally, Ethan assumed these demons were the culprits. After all, he knew their kind to rejoice in barbarity.

But after hearing the way Princess Analia had yelled out her warning to the captain, Ethan now had doubts. There had been a desperate concern in her tone and Ethan’s magic had picked up on her strong protective intent.

Ethan looked over to where Princess Analia lay unconscious, draped over Sebastian’s body.

“Damn,” Ethan muttered, then yelled at his brood, “Whose dart was that!”

Ion stepped forward, jutting his chin. “It was mine.”

“Had I not ordered the princess be untouched? It will take days for the serum to leave her system!”

“I thought it best to take them all down and sort them out later. What does it matter if she sleeps a few days?”

It mattered greatly. Not only would he have a harder time smoothing things over with her, but he would have to wait to get to the king’s next instructions. He was sick of waiting.

“The problem with that sentence, Ion, is that you used ‘I’ and ‘thought.’ I am the leader, and
I
do the thinking.” Ion shrugged.

This wasn’t the first time Ion had challenged his authority, but it would be the last. Ethan would not risk the life of the princess now that he’d finally found her.

Ethan gently settled the female demon on the rough ground, then stood, drawing his sword. Ion pulled his blade as well, and other Denaloid backed away.

Ethan stood still, using his Faieara gift to anticipate Ion’s first strike. Ion’s swing was swiftly executed with well-trained arms, but Ethan simply stepped out of the way.

Ethan swiped his bade out so swiftly it left a ghostly trail behind as the metal slashed into Ion’s neck. Ion shoved his hand against the thick gash, but blood spurted from between his fingers. His gurgled gasps echoed off the bare cavern walls as his knees hit gravel. His sword fell to the ground in a clatter.

Ethan sheathed his sword and stepped away. He could quicken his foes death, but that was not the Denaloid way. They would wait for his last breath before celebrating the victor.

Ion’s torso dropped to the ground, and after a few moments more, choked on his last breath. The Denaloids erupted in cheers. Ethan’s second in command, Oxnel, came forward to drag Ion’s body out of sight.

Ethan faced his men. “Put the captain and his crew in a cell together. Do it quick. We have no idea how long the demons will remain under. Their metabolism is unique. My bet is they will be the first to wake.”

The Denaloids rushed to obey.

Ethan crossed the room toward Princess Analia. Her blond hair tumbled in waves over the dark ground. He pulled the dart from her shoulder and lifted her in his arms. Her hair fell aside to reveal one of her pointed ears, the only obvious Faieara trait.

For a moment, he considered putting her in his bed while she recovered—respectfully, he would take the couch—but he had no doubt that when she regained consciousness, she’d be disoriented and afraid and would most likely try to escape. And, if he and the king were correct in their assessment of her magic, she would need a special cell with a lock that her gift could not breech.

He disliked the idea of locking her up, especially considering what he knew of her past, but he would do what he could to make it as comfortable for her as possible.

Unbeknownst to her, their courtship had already started.

Chapter 3