Demon Untamed (42 page)

Satisfaction surged, even as Ethan’s essence was crushed by the pressure, his energy being sucked from the very marrow in his bones. Still he forced more magic into the circle, utilizing his gift to revitalize the others.

Without warning, his power was no longer his to command. It now belonged to Kyra, and he didn’t resist. As he siphoned all the consequences of calling so much magic, agony nearly brought him to his knees. Lava burned through his veins, and his brain pulsed painfully against his skull. His teeth clenched to keep from crying out. He brought Sonya’s calming image to mind once more, focusing on her instead of the anguish.

His last thought:
I’m so glad I had a chance to tell her I loved her.

Sonya marveled at the vision in the sky, wondering what was happening. A deafening boom rang out, echoing with tangible vibrations that curled through every nuance of her body.

She jumped back in horror when a nearby group of flabbergasted Kayadon began to…melt? No, that wasn’t right. It was as if they were disintegrating, one molecule at a time and incinerated by invisible flame. They didn’t even have time to yell out a protest. When those few were rendered to dust, the process spread to another group.

At once, dreadful understanding sparked over the battlefield and the purest form of fear spread over the Kayadon. They scrambled over each other to get away. Yet none of them could run fast enough. Eventually, they all succumbed to the weight of the frightening magic. The decimation was staggering.

Sonya, frozen in unmitigated awe. She had to work to gasp in a long breath. She struggled to rationalize what she’d just witnessed.

Nothing but a bit of trampled grass stood as evidence that an army had been there but moments ago.

She turned her incredulous gaze toward Sebastian and the others, hoping someone was willing to break the dazed silence. She was stunned anew to find Kyra’s pet Kayadon unaffected, still unconscious and lying in that same spot on the ground.

Small stones rose several feet off the ground around them, hovering. The group collectively tensed.

What now?

Cale gasped, studying a wound on his arm that he’d acquired during the fight. Amazingly, the deep slash was knitting itself closed right before their eyes.

Her own scratches, though she hadn’t realized she’d had any till now, were healing as well. She marveled as they faded out of existence, leaving nothing but smooth, healthy skin.

Yet Ethan and the others weren’t finished.

The unconscious Kayadon heaped in a ball began to stir, to change. His skin shifted from the dull, dead gray to a warmer hue. His bones began to grind and morph into something less grotesque, almost pleasing to the eye. Dark hair emerged from his newly reshaped skull.

Sonya turned her back, sickened by the sight. Everything in her demanded she take her gun and end his life before he had a chance to beg for it with what she was sure would be a pair of sparkling clear eyes.

Moments later, Cale ground out, “Guess this means I don’t get to kill you after all.” Where was the malice? Where was the centuries-long hate? He’d almost sounded amused…jesting with a fiend from every demon’s nightmares!

And then the bastard spoke back. “Is this an illusion?” Despite his accent, he sounded so…normal.

Infuriating rage brought tears to her eyes. She swiftly blinked them away before becoming distracted by the barrage of falling ships that seemed to be breaking apart from within. The pieces scattered as though no more solid than dust. Any fires that still raged were miraculously extinguished as if by a great breath.

The gust reached her moments later, nearly knocking her over a second time. The radiant light that had encompassed the cliff dissipated.

As if utterly exhausted, Kyra, Anya, and Nadua went to their knees, breathing heavily. To Sonya’s horror, Ethan fell back and landed hard against the stony ground, unmoving.

“Ethan!” She rushed to him. She gasped at the bruises, like patchwork over his skin. She cupped his face and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. “Ethan?” she muttered, shoving aside the terror that gripped her chest. “Wake up. You did it. The Kayadon are destroyed. It was amazing.”

He didn’t even flinch as two of her arrant tears dripped over his face. She wiped her cheeks and pushed through her tight throat. “Please wake up, it won’t look good if you pass when the girls have not. You have a reputation, remember?”

No response.

The only reason Sonya managed to hold it together at all was the fact that Ethan still breathed, although shallowly.

To her left, Cale cried out in joy as he whirled a smiling Kyra in his arms. Sonya had to keep from lashing out. Instead, she demanded. “What’s wrong with Ethan?”

Kyra turned sorrowful as she focused on Ethan. “He chose to accept all the consequences of using so much magic.”

“What?”

“Energy magic costs energy. That’s why Anya and I get so exhausted afterward. I didn’t realize it till the end, but he sacrificed himself so we wouldn’t have to.”

Sonya speared Ethan with an accusatory glare. He’d done this to himself on purpose? He knew what would happen, and still he sacrificed himself. How could she have protected him from such power? From something she didn’t even understand? And why hadn’t she realized before that there had been a goodbye in his final gaze?

“You stupid son of a bitch!” she screamed, struggling to rein in her emotions.

Sebastian asked warily, “Does he live?”

She fought to maintain her voice. “His pulse is faint.”

“We should move him somewhere safe.” Sebastian turned his attention to Kyra. “I’m assuming the Kayadon are no longer a problem?”

“Only those within the field have been healed or destroyed,” she replied.

With that, the Kayadon asked eagerly, “Others are healed?”

Stroking Ethan’s hair, Sonya leaned close to him. “I’m sorry I’ve been so difficult. I promise to be kinder, easier, but you have to wake up.”

He didn’t.

She only overheard bits of the conversation between the others. Cale confirmed that Ru had betrayed them, setting him and Kyra up to be captured by Kayadon. When Cale launched into a tirade about what he would do when he found the little shit, Sonya broke in. “Can we discuss revenge later?”

Cale offered a look of condolence, which she stubbornly ignored. There was no reason for it. Ethan wasn’t gone yet. Anya had come back from the brink, stronger than ever. Ethan would too.

Everyone began debating options. Returning to
Marada
was out of the question. Even if they could find their way back, the hike would be too dangerous. There was no guarantee that more Kayadon weren’t on the way right at this moment.

“Let’s go to the palace,” Kyra exclaimed. “It’s not far, and we can rally my people. There might be healers there too.”

They all turned toward the magnificent building residing just beyond their perch. It was mostly unscathed but for a few blackened walls and a crumbled tower.

“Was it cleared of Kayadon?” Cale inquired.

Kyra hesitated. “I…think so.”

“Does it matter!” Sonya said. “If it wasn’t, it will be soon.” She would make sure of that.

“What do we do with him?” Rex said, glaring down at the revived Kayadon.

The Kayadon replied smoothly, “I am no threat.” He looked at Kyra. “You have done the thing I believed impossible. I owe you my life and will serve you till my last breath.”

“Lying Kayadon scum!” Sonya shrieked. “You think your pretty new shell will make us trust you.”

“Bring him with us, but keep him bound,” Kyra ordered. “I’ll decide what to do with him later.”

The others readily accepted her queenly decree.

“Whatever,” Sonya scoffed, adding, “If he even breathes wrong I
will
kill him.”

* * *

“I think we’ve hit the motherload!” Oxnel belted out a hearty laugh as Ethan claimed fistfuls of treasure from the deep chest and stuffed it into the hidden compartments in his jacket. Oddly, his pockets seemed to never fill.

This ship must have been an easy mark. He didn’t even recall the inhabitants fighting back when they overtook it. Where were they anyway? He stilled at the thought. How could he have taken his eye off them? They could be devising a mutiny as he and Oxnel became seduced by the bounty.

He found himself in a dark room where several unrecognizable individuals huddled in a corner. They feared him, not realizing it was unnecessary. He’d not harm a soul if he didn’t have to, but they didn’t know that…and that was the point. Fear kept people in line, a tactic that nearly every race utilized.

Despicable? Yes. Effective? Extremely.

He went back to rummaging through the treasure and found an odd necklace that piqued his interest. He stared at it, trying to remember why it looked familiar.

As he debated clasping it around his neck, something drew his eyes to the left. A great field full of brilliant colors merged seamlessly with the ship. A dimensional rift, he surmised. “I don’t remember seeing that before,” Ethan said to Oxnel.

“Summoned for you, I believe. Been here the whole time, just waiting.”

“Should I go there?” It looked so peaceful, inviting. A place without worry or sorrow.

“Isn’t that where you’ve been headed this whole time?”

Ethan’s brows drew together. “Have I?” He stepped toward the edge, looking down at an entire world of divine grace. He could feel it reaching for him, soothing him. Yet it was hard to focus on any one thing. A meadow stretched out, blanketing a bundle of endless rolling hills. Beyond that? Well, no one could know what lay beyond that. “I’m not sure. Wasn’t there something I was supposed to do?”

“I think you’ve done all you can. Don’t you? Aren’t you tired?”

“You have no idea,” Ethan said bitterly, feeling the weight of his weariness press down on him. The barest of movements, separated him from calm tranquility. Just a step, and he would know peace.

He stretched out his leg.

Chapter 36

At the base of the cliff, Sonya saw Tristan and his kin standing near burning wreckage, their expressions sorrowful. One of his brothers knelt over the lifeless body of their father. Sonya felt for the dragon’s loss, but stayed near Ethan while the others offered condolences.

After a moment of mourning, the group rallied. They utilized ship parts from wreckage and crafted two gurneys, one for Ethan and the other for King Mar’s body. Tristan and Lear carried their father, while Rex and Sonya took command of Ethan. The others flanked them, keeping a look out for danger as they headed toward the palace.

Sonya listened for approaching trouble, but the forest remained eerily quiet. The usual chatty wildlife seemed to be stuck on a breath.

As the group trudged forward, her gaze continued to slip to Ethan as worry ate through her chest. His breath was too slow, his pulse too faint. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to be at the center of such an enormous blast of power.

Her stomach rolled as she looked him over. It had been enough to render a powerful healer like Ethan unconscious.

Rex had helped her dress his wounds by ripping bits of his shirt into strips, the color of which—once a light grey—was now stained red.

Her insides twisted.

She wasn’t in the habit of seeing Ethan bleed without the assurance that he could heal himself right away. Now his wounds gaped, blood soaking his clothing and pooling on the makeshift gurney under him. Too much blood.

Her throat tightened as she held back a sob. Unshed tears pricked her eyes. Her world felt somehow frozen, and a deeply buried part of her brain rationalized she was experiencing a form of shock. Silently, she begged the gods to let him open his eyes, for that sly smile of his to grace his lips once more. 

Apparently, the gods were on hiatus. 

After what felt like hours upon hours of walking, they found the edge of the forest and entered the village outskirt. Or what once had been the village outskirt. Most of the buildings were now crumbling, carved by fire and destruction. Burning ash rained down. The smell of it saturated her lungs.

Yet the palace was intact, as though separate from it all, a beautiful entity that had declared amnesty. Only a small tower billowed with smoke.

Debris in the street slowed their progress as they made their way through the city. When they were more than halfway to the palace, Anya paused and turned her attention to a ruined dwelling.

Sebastian quirked his chin at her as if asking what she sensed.

Anya tugged at her pointed ear and then gestured to the rubble. One of her own kind was near?

Anxiety spiked Sonya’s heart rate. How many of them were there? Would the onlookers see the mishmash group of demons, dragons, and Faieara as a threat and attack? Her fangs descended in readiness.

“Hello?” Anya murmured in a benevolent tone. “You can come out. It’s safe now.”

They waited, but nothing happened. Sonya was ready to enter that broken-down shack and yank out whatever resided within, whether it be friend or foe. Anya lifted a finger and glanced sternly at her. Sonya gritted her teeth, reining it in.