Fashionably Dead (51 page)

Dorian followed closely as Synar walked to stand at Ania’s side, feeling the respectful silence of the congregation descend around the two of them like a cloak. Defying convention on her planet, he held out a hand to his mate, smiling as Ania placed hers in his without even glancing at anyone else. On a planet where all touching was considered something to do behind closed doors, her easy acceptance of his hand holding hers was more significant to him than any ceremony could ever be.

Synar glanced at Dorian standing taller than anyone else in the assembly and his first mate, Jonas, standing by Dorian’s side. He nodded his head to both of them that he was ready. Then he formally inclined his head to the entire assembly, before repeating the action for the officiant. Finally, he bowed to the female facing him. Her accepting smile as she held his gaze was all the assurance he needed that mating her was right.

“Ania Looren, before this congregation of friends and family I openly declare my sincere desire to be your mate for the rest of my life. All that I am and will ever be, I give into your power this day. Do you accept my offer and pledge?” Synar asked.

“Aye, Liam Synar. I accept your offer and pledge. All that I am and ever will be, I give into your power this day as well. Let us be declared as mates,” Ania answered, pleased that her voice was as confident and as sure as Liam’s.

“Let it be declared that this couple is mated,” the officiant announced loudly.

“Joined by the will of the Creators,” the congregation added, the sound of their common support rolling up the walls of the room and filling every fraction of space with joyful energy. Then the celebratory music began, the vibration of it swelling.

Smiling that the ceremony was almost over, Synar turned his head slightly and watched in stunned disbelief as Jonas fell to the floor, a large hole blasted through his chest, his life force leaving rapidly.

“
Malachi!
Come forth and stop those that seek to do harm
,” Synar yelled, watching the mist come out and briefly hover over Jonas before moving off to do as asked.

Dorian and two other crew members scrambled to find those responsible.

“Liam, who. . .?” Hearing her new mate call out an unfamiliar name, Ania instinctively turned to the crowd and saw a weapon flash. Without stopping to think, she stepped in front of him and felt a searing fire in her back. She called out as she fell.

“
No
,” Synar yelled in shock, clutching Ania’s falling form in his arms. “
Malachi! Kill them all but one.
”

It will be done as you command.
Not wanting to waste the energy needed to form sound
,
Malachi mentally sent his compliance and moved quickly to obey.

Synar sank to the floor clutching Ania’s weakening body. “What have you done, Ania? Why did you step in front of me? That blast was not meant for you.”

“Take care for your life,” Ania said, trying to tell him what she had seen even if she was too late to stop it. “I am returning to the Creators. Do not mourn me long, Liam. You know I have planned for this day.”

“No—this will not be, must not be.” Synar looked around the room, now mostly vacant except for the dead and dying bodies lying scattered across the floor. When the mist appeared above him, hovering and waiting for acknowledgment, Synar looked up in numbed surprise. He could barely think.

The attackers are all dead except the one being restrained by your Lieutenant Zade. Even he is starting to wish he had suffered the same fate. Let Zade finish him for you and be done with this fight, Liam. You and I have a bigger problem to attend to because Jonas Tangier is no more,
Malachi sent.

Synar looked at the male cowering by Dorian and at the carnage on the floor. He swallowed, focusing his thoughts.
Are any of the Pleiadians who tried to stop them still alive
?

One or two linger, but not for long,
Malachi reported.

Go into the largest one for now, but do nothing else until I command you,
Synar sent.
Do not reanimate him.

As you wish,
Malachi sent back, heading for the best body he saw, glad that Liam was letting him choose his host this time. Jonas Tangier had not been his choice, though he had grown quite fond of the easy going male host over time. Being in Jonas had been like taking a holiday from warring because the Greggor male loved nothing better than bonding with females and making music. Before Jonas, Liam’s father Bogdan had put him into an uneducated, giant stump of a Norblade. Malachi didn’t even want to think about that host body and what it had done.

Looking over the choices lying in front of him, Malachi thought he probably should have felt more over the loss of a host like Jonas. But after so many years and so many hosts, he could not seem to conjure the energy setting for such a corporeal emotion. In mist form, there was only the divinely driven need to find a way to continue his existence. Knowing Liam was still watching and waiting for him to comply, Malachi quickly disappeared into the largest Pleiadian guard he saw.

After Malachi was gone from sight, Synar lay Ania’s mostly unconscious form down on the floor and stood to walk over to the cowering male Dorian held firm. He looked down at his uniform covered in life force. Knowing it was Ania’s had his eyes glowing red. The killer glared back defiantly at him, but Synar also saw fear in his eyes. If there hadn’t been any, he would have made sure to put some there. And though he’d never ordered it done to a captive yet, Malachi was well skilled at torture.

“Did my brother Conor send you to kill me?” Synar demanded. “I warn you, your death means nothing to me now, so you might as well try to redeem yourself before the Creators receive you.”

“Yes. Conor sent us. He wants you and the demon. He said to take you alive, but kill everyone else that got in our way. The stun was meant only to wound, not to kill you. I swear it.”

“If my mate dies, you will die. If she lives, you will take a message back to my brother and tell him that killing Malachi’s host bodies won’t gain him anything. Your inept group left plenty more bodies for the demon to inhabit.”

Synar turned from the nodding male to look at Dorian. “Take this coward out of my sight and send medical help to look after Ania.”

“Indeed,” Dorian said, grabbing the male by his arm and dragging him out of the room.

Synar went back to his mate, kneeling down to cradle her again. “Ania? Can you hear me?”

“I don’t know why I did not see this coming, Liam. I’m sorry. I guess all I could think about today was you.”

Ania tried to reassure her worried mate with a smile, but her eyes closed and the blackness she drifted in claimed her once more.

“
Malachi, come out now and do no harm
,” Synar called, his voice heavy. In his concern for Ania’s impending death, he forgot not to speak. Despite his natural Norblade calm, the pressure inside him to scream was barely restrained. He couldn’t let Ania die when he had the power to stop it from happening. He just couldn’t.

“Damn me if you must—but I don’t care if this is right or wrong,” Synar said, sending the words to the Creators of All.

He looked then at the demon mist floating in front of him. For a single moment he paused, but when he finally spoke, all hesitation was gone.

“Malachi. Demon of Synar. Enter this female’s body and lend her your life. Ania Looren is your new host.”

But Liam—you can’t mean to put me in a female
. Malachi’s vibrations wavered as he protested the gender with both disdain—and shock.

“You will go into the host body I have chosen and do all I ask. You will repair Ania’s physical form and take no more from her than what is necessary for your survival. She is never to know you inhabit her. She is to remain just as she was before you,” Synar ordered. “Enter the female and heal her. I am your master. As I command, you will obey.”

This is a mistake, Liam
, Malachi chastised.
I am to be put into warriors and used to fight evil armies. Why do you dishonor the sacred contract? There is no redemption for me in this enlightened female
.

“It’s either go into Ania Looren, or into the amulet, demon. If Ania dies, I will lock you away and drop the amulet into the volcanoes on Terris One. Your spirit will not die, but you will never live in a host again either. You can truly spend eternity in a fiery pit like many beings fear doing.”

Malachi hovered, flexed, but finally acquiesced. His tie to the Synar family exceeded his power to deny his current master. Cursing the Creators of All once more, he resigned himself to a dreary existence in the female for a while. He pulled his mist form together more tightly.
I hear and will do all that you command
, he vowed, disappearing quickly into the body of the female while Liam turned his head away until it was done.

Moments later, Ania’s eyes fluttered open and Synar let out a ragged breath of relief that he hadn’t been too late. “Ania—are you still with me? Help is on the way.”

“What happened, Liam? Jonas. . .”

“Rest. . .don’t try to talk. We were attacked by an enemy, Ania. Fortunately, the weapon was not set to kill instantly. You are severely wounded, but I believe you will survive.”

“Good. Is everyone safe now?” Ania asked, moaning at the pain.

“Yes, but I fear this is not the end of it. I must leave you and go seek those that did this to make sure they will not do so again,” Synar said sadly. “You will be safe with your family. I will come back for you when I am done.”

“Take me with you. I’ll heal on the ship,” Ania demanded.

“No. I can’t put a high-level Peace Alliance ambassador at so much risk. Heal while I am gone. Let your family care for you. Serve your planet until I return from my task.”

He stroked his mate’s cheek, wanting nothing more than to take her with him as she demanded. But Conor’s hired thugs would just come after them both. Since he did not know when he would do it again, Synar bent to brush Ania’s lips with his. “I know you don’t like kissing, but I need to reassure myself that you live.”

“Perhaps I’m getting used to it,” Ania joked, struggling to return the pressure of his mouth.

“Help is coming shortly, I swear it. Let them repair your body, Ania. You will be weak for a while, but soon this will be nothing more than a bad memory.”

When she didn’t answer, Synar realized Ania had fallen into the healing sleep of the demon. Malachi was already working on her.

Now he needed to focus on the actions that would make Malachi’s efforts count.

Dorian soon returned and walked to where they were still on the floor. “Help is on its way. The medics were afraid to come inside. How is she?”

Ignoring Dorian’s concerned question, Synar raised his gaze to his friend’s face.

“We are taking the bodies of Jonas and the Pleiadian male Malachi went into earlier with us. Put both on the shuttle. I will explain later. I will register the body we are stealing as host to my demon now. Then we are going to release the killer we captured and send him back to warn Conor that I’m going to be actively searching for him. If we check, I bet we discover Conor is no longer confined to the planet he was exiled to.”

“Is the Pleiadian male joining our crew once the demon reanimates him?” Dorian asked the question, but dreaded the answer. The words were distasteful, but Liam’s legacy was not a pleasant burden to bear.

“No. The Pleiadian male will not be reanimated. The dead body is a ruse to fool Conor. I have given Malachi a more noble assignment.”

Dorian looked at Ania’s body then, seeing the energy signature but not wanting to believe it. He prayed the Creators of All would have mercy on her spirit. “Ania was prepared for her death, Liam. Do you know how much she would disapprove of what you have done?”

“Yes. Ania might have been ready for her death, but I was not. The contract is made, and I will not be changing it. I chose to tell you only because I need your help.”

Dorian saw Ania’s lashes flutter open at the same moment he heard the medics finally running in to their aid.

“Hello Dorian. I forget sometimes how tall you are. It’s still like looking up at a mountain to see you from the floor. This sure hasn’t happened in a very long time.”

Dorian watched Ania follow her painful laugh with a moan. Despite his beliefs and his sense of foreboding about what Liam had done, he smiled down at his teacher and friend with great relief. Ania remained herself so far as he could see. He hoped that would always be true.

“Be assured that I have never forgotten a single moment of my training at your hands. And I would gladly reverse our positions if I could.”

Dorian saw Ania laugh genuinely at his comment, but it obviously hurt her badly to do so. Then her eyes closed again. With a tired sigh, he saw her enter the blackness calling to her.

As several healers rushed to help them, he and Liam slipped out of their way. They stepped away from the medics, keeping their voices low.

“Well? What is your answer?” Synar demanded.

“Though I have many concerns about the wisdom of your actions, I will help you hide this from your brother,” Dorian said at last. “I pray the Creators forgive us both if we are mistaken.”