Reclaiming Mystique (SpaceStalker Saga Book 2) (37 page)

The other Cazeth circled around the group as Orsan hovered over Naria.

“Uh, Jace?” Koneru asked quietly. “Now might be a good time to give them a good mental blast or something.”

The Cazeth had completely closed them off from Naria. And as Jace stood torn, he saw Orsan awaiting his decision. Save your friends and Mystique, or save Naria.

Unable to make such a choice, Jace stood indecisive until he felt Naria’s tentative probing on his mind.

“Save them,” she spoke into his mind. “I have been waiting for Orsan to show a weakness. In his pride he shall fall.”

Jace stared with hatred at Orsan before leaping back to defend his crew. Trusting in Naria, he gathered his will and using the untapped depths of his mind, he let forth a great blast of mental heat, shattering the Cazeth’s hold on his friends.

The others watched in amazement as the Cazeth suddenly shot away from their attack as if a bomb had hit. Cazeth flew everywhere, two lifted upwards into the pit of emptiness above them, the others shattering the ice wall around the room, sending frozen Psi to the ground in great blocks of ice.

Wasting no time, the crew immediately set on the weakest Cazeth while Jace pursued the others. He turned as Orsan screamed out in anger and pain, only to see the large Cazeth clutching at his eyes, great gaping wounds now streaming with black blood.

And at Orsan’s feet stood Naria, her hair whipping around her body, her eyes a shimmering rainbow as she glared at Orsan. Jace could feel her power reaching out to his and he brushed her energies, amazed at the warmth flowing over him.

Feeling more powerful than ever, Jace let loose a barrage of mental flame that set another Cazeth ablaze. Shocked at the ferocity of this attack, the three remaining Cazeth looked to Orsan for help.

“Kill them!” Orsan screamed and burst of energy shot through the hall.

“Get down!” Jace shouted as Mikhel narrowly avoided a fatal bolt of lightning. Castor finished slicing a Cazeth in two and rolled away just as another block of the frozen wall around the hall came crashing down.

“You think to defeat me? Orsan? Ruler of all I survey?” Orsan’s voice grew as his anger multiplied. “I am Cazeth, a strength of purpose you Offworlders can never hope to possess.”

Jace looked briefly at Naria and saw her mouth quirk in satisfaction. Orsan was wiping at his eyes ineffectually, the burns making his vision almost impossible to use.

But then Orsan did something unexpected. He laughed and threw his energies into the hole of nothingness above them.

“Mother, we return to you,” Orsan cried out as the void grew.

“You cannot,” Jace said firmly and quickly joined Naria, hugging her to his side. Her warmth made him giddy with relief and as he stared at the end of Mystique swirling above them all, he knew that with Naria’s help they would defeat Orsan. “Naria, will you give me what I need?”

“I would give you anything, love,” Naria said softly and kissed him, filling him with her essence and the power of her love.

Full of wonder and energy, Jace didn’t think nor did he hear the gasps of shock that filled the hall. Large golden wings grew out of his back and he floated upwards, meeting Orsan in the air just below the void. But the void held no sway over Jace nor those he protected on the ground.

Jace watched as the other Cazeth, both alive and dead were sucked into the great nothingness above them.

“Hold, Orsan!” He heard Demise shout and could feel the Dark Worlders enter the hall. But Jace kept his attention on Orsan.

“You have failed, Orsan,” Jace said pleasantly, his grin not reaching his dark eyes. “And now it is my turn to exact a measure of vengeance and justice for my people.”

“Jace, no. He is ours,” Demise shouted to be heard over the wind now swirling around them. Though sheltered from the void, those on the ground felt the effects of Orsan’s elemental powers until Keep Krital silenced them.

“No, he belongs with his mother,” Jace said softly and watched as the dawning fear lit Orsan’s eyes.

“You will pay for his.” Orsan sneered and shot a blast of lightning straight at Naria. He gasped as the lightning passed through Naria and appeared to have done no damage.

His attack pushed Jace to the edge and not thinking of anything save ending this torment, Jace flew into Orsan and grappled with the strong Cazeth. Though wounded, Orsan’s madness gave him the strength of ten Cazeth. He wrapped his large arms around Jace and clawed and pummeled away seeking to harm.

Yet Jace deflected those blows, narrowly missing a talon no doubt intended to blind him. “No, this time you will pay,” Jace said through his teeth and he stared holes into Orsan’s brain.

Unaware that Demise and Krital had joined Jace’s battle in the air, Jace continued to pour his light into Orsan’s dark body. He and Orsan remained locked together, soaring higher and higher towards the nothingness when Demise grabbed Jace’s foot.

“Let him go,” Demise ordered, his eyes blazing yet uncertain as he stared at Jace. Jace could not know that from his eyes streamed a light so pure that it hurt the Dark Worlders to see it. But Jace did perceive that Demise meant to help him, not harm him. And so he did as suggested.

The minute he removed himself from Orsan he felt a wave of energy pass around him that was so intense it took all of his focus not to lose consciousness. Orsan shrieked as the energy hit him and forced him into the nothingness.

As soon as the Cazeth entered, the void seemed to blink and shrink until nothing more than a black speck remained, only to disappear as well.

Mystique seemed to shudder in relief and Jace felt himself being drawn back down to the ground gently, barely conscious of Demise and Krital’s careful grips on his arms.

“Jace?” Naria asked in wonder as she eyed her golden angel. She watched as his wings shimmered away, saw her father and Devel Keep Krital watch Jace warily. Even Naria couldn’t understand how Jace had grown wings and flown. No power she’d ever heard of could allow a being to grow the wings of power likened to her people of Dark World.

On his feet and in her arms, Jace leaned wearily into her and would have sunk to the ground had Naria and her father not caught him.

“Not bad, Naria,” Lord Demise said, a hint of a grin on his handsome face. “For an Offworlder he has the requisite power to equal my daughter.”

Krital snorted but said nothing, merely eyed Demise as if he’d gone insane. Then he turned to Naria and bowed, his eyes twinkling. “Quite impressive, Shayna. It’s too bad that you are mated to an Offworlder. I could have found several devels to interest you at home.”

“Krital.” Demise growled low in his throat but the Devel Keep merely laughed, his sharp teeth glowing under Mystiques’ setting sun.

“Well, Daughter,” Demise said as he studied her and Jace kneeling on the ground. “Mystique is back, the Cazeth are no more and now we really must go.” He looked uncomfortable as he stared at the rock under his feet. “The planet tolerated us for only so long. I don’t expect to be returning, but I will expect you to visit and soon,” he ordered with a smile. Then he leaned down and kissed her on the head.

“Krital, gather the others and let us leave this horrid place,” Demise said as he grimaced around him. “And the next time any of you step foot on Dark World, I’ll be waiting,” he said with a large smile. Several of the Psi backed away in fear while Naria heard Nesham sigh.

“Nice father by marriage you’ve got there,” Mikhel murmured softly and Naria watched as Nesham’s face grew dark.

Laughing, she watched as her father and the others melted away, leaving Mystique finally free of the darkness that had enslaved it for so long. The planet glowed and the air turned sweet and fresh, a cool breeze wafting through the palace to clear the air of the stench of death.

Groans of pain and confusion soon filled the palace as the ice block surrounding the encased Psi melted, leaving its prisoners wet, cold and finally alive again.

“Naria?” Jace asked softly. She looked down at him and smiled. She kissed him gently on the lips and cradled his head on her lap. “They’re gone, aren’t they?”

“Yes, Jace, they are,” Naria said with a smile and lifted Jace into a sitting position. She watched with him as everyone laughed and talked at once, aiding the wounded and disoriented Psi. The sky above them had turned a light lavender, cloudless and warm. And the ground beneath them quivered with delight as its inhabitants once again sounded with joy.

“Naria, you are my heart,” Jace said as he turned in her arms to kiss her soundly. A great cheer rent the hall and Naria and Jace looked up to find themselves the source of the noise.

Blushing, Naria curled deeper into Jace who laughed and tried to stand. Still a bit shaky herself, Naria helped him, aided by a grinning Castor.

“People of Mystique,” Jace shouted aloud and the hall quieted. “We are free at last of the hated Cazeth. Evil will roam this planet no more.” The hall erupted into cheer. “And if not for Arana, the Princess Zescha, all this might never have come to pass.”

Arana blushed and Naria smiled, glad that Jace had given his sister the credit she was due.

“But I have one more thing to add. I would like to again live with you all, in peace, if you will let me,” Jace said with a smile amidst cheering and hollering. “With my mate, Naria Arel, formerly of Dark World.”

The crowd quieted for a moment at mention of that planet, then the noise rose to a deafening crescendo as the import of Jace’s words sunk in. The royal prince had returned and freed the land, and now he would be king with a new queen, one as full in power as he.

“Zescha, Zescha,” began being chanted as Jace hugged Naria to his side.

“Now perhaps we can get a little privacy for ourselves, hmm? It feels like forever since I’ve held you close,” Jace whispered into Naria’s ear and bit her lobe lightly, causing flutters to fly in her stomach

“Wouldn’t you rather rest?” Naria asked, conscious of their wounds and exhaustion from their fight.

“Later, much later,” Jace murmured and pressed his aroused body into hers. Naria laughed, limping with him out of the hall.

-Epilogue-

“So you’re really staying.” Jace watched his crew readying to depart Mystique. They had brought the
SpaceStalker
down and replenished supplies. The past week had been spent in celebration and cleansing, ridding the kingdom of everything dark and renewing life around them.

Though the Psi had taken a tremendous hit, their numbers dwindling to mere hundreds, Jace felt confident that with the new policies concerning outsiders things would soon change.

I thought I’d see what more your planet has to offer before I leave again.” Mikhel’s gaze sought Arana, who never seemed to be too far from the large man’s presence.

If
you leave again
, Jace added silently. He thought he recognized the expression in Arana’s eyes whenever she looked at Mikhel. It was the same look he’d been giving Naria since he’d fallen in love with her.

“Yes, well,” Mikhel said with a shrug. “There’s so much life here.”

“That there is,” Jace said proudly. In just a few short days his people had made tremendous strides to rid themselves of loss and sadness, and Jace could feel it in the planet, that happiness and new growth.

He walked with Mikhel towards the ship, where Castor stood amidst a bevy of beautiful women while Koneru argued with Nesham.

“Castor, I see you haven’t lost your touch,” Jace said wryly.

Castor grinned. “You know, Jace, I’m thinking of stopping back by here after we drop Nesham and Carinna on Fenby. Koneru’s planning on taking the
SpaceStalker
back to Rovi to get more thorough repairs and I might as well spend the time here as well as anyplace else.”

Jace could see the happy expressions on several of the ladies’ faces hearing that. Koneru and Nesham, on the other hand, continued to argue.

“We’re not taking that creature with us and that’s final,” Koneru stated.

“But Koneru, she wants to go,” Nesham said. “Besides, it’s just until we get to Fenby. Then she’ll be staying with Carinna and me.”

“No. No animals on board. You and Castor are bad enough,” the large Rovi grumbled. Then he saw Jace and his expression lightened. “Jace! Now what do you think about all this? Nesham wants to rip one of Mystique’s creatures out of her environment and take her away.”

Jace looked from Nesham to the small lavender striped cat perched upon his arm. The cat lifted her golden eyes to his dark ones, her thoughts clearly communicated as she blinked lazily.

“Sorry, Koneru. But she wants to go. But Nesham, you should know she’s expecting a litter in a month or two.”

Koneru groaned but Nesham’s eyes lit up. “Really? She didn’t tell me that.”

“She talks?” Koneru asked in surprise.

“Of course,” Jace answered. “Everything on Mystique has some sentience, Koneru. And the little Ren cat has fallen for Nesham there. Introduce her to the stalker cats on Fenby. I’m sure in a few years Fenby will have cats like no other.”

Koneru merely shook his head.

“Thanks, Jace. I know Carinna’s going to love her.”

“Yes, I will,” Carinna said as she gently pried the cat from Nesham’s arm. The cat sniffed at her curiously before meowing, then settling around Carinna’s shoulders.

“See? She likes me already.”

“Are you sure you won’t stay?” Jace asked her.

“Not just yet,” Carinna said with a smile. Nesham hugged her to him, her small frame looking just perfect against his muscular body. “I confess I’m very curious about Fenby. Nesham’s told me so much about it.”

“It’s a place of beauty and wonder, now with the new king,” Nesham said proudly. “And perhaps sometime soon Jace, you and Naria will come?”

“We will,” Naria answered for him, wrapping her hands around her mate’s waist. “I’ve a great curiosity about the worlds of the System.”

Jace groaned. “Naria, we have a bit of work to do here first, remember?”

She whispered something in his ear that made him flush and the others laughed. “Come Carinna, let’s say our good-byes privately,” she said and dragged her sister away, exclaiming over the cat.