The Demon Master's Wife (Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) (33 page)

“You ask a lot from me, but very well. So long as I have breath, Conor Synar will never be Malachi’s only master,” Ania said softly.

“Will you swear that promise to me as Khalsa?” Synar asked.

“No,” Ania whispered, meeting his gaze. “I swear by the creators of all. I swear I will do what I must to keep your brother from controlling Malachi’s power. Conor’s destiny is not to be that demon’s master.”

“No, it’s not—no matter how much I wish it could be different,” Synar said sincerely. “I even pray your idea succeeds so his full death will not be necessary, though I cannot imagine it doing so.”

“One way or the other, we will succeed,” Ania said firmly, pulling away. “When this is over, you and I will talk of happier things. Perhaps we might even discuss our future living arrangements without fighting.”

Synar smiled even though he didn’t feel like it. Ania being in his life permanently was the one thing he had no doubts about happening at all. It still felt meant to be and always had for him.

“We could discuss living arrangements I suppose. Or as captain, I could just lock you out of your old room and force you into mine,” Synar joked.

Ania looked at him in disbelief and shook her head. She walked to his door, manually setting it to lock behind her as she went out of it. From outside, Synar heard her chant just before the lock clicked and she walked back inside.

“Lock a Khalsa out of a room on this ship of metal so easily cursed? Not possible,” she explained, not even feeling the slightest urge to gloat. She’d been cursing metal and bypassing locked doors since she was fifty Earth years old.

“Okay. I guess I will just have to find a way to talk you into staying with me by choice then,” Synar said finally, his eyes glinting with amusement at the pride in hers. “I will be pondering what to offer you for your favors until we can discuss it.”

“Perhaps there is hope for us after all,” Ania said, bowing her head respectfully to the only male she was ever going to want as a mate.

Chapter 27

On the engineering deck railing, Gwen stood by Chiang and covertly watched the hooded male debark from the supply ship. He was wearing a cloak covering most of his face, but what she saw of him sent a chill racing along her spine. It was like looking at Synar’s evil twin.

Unaware of the full situation, Chiang put a hand to his gut. “Who’s that?”

“Ambassador’s Onin’s mate—or so I’ve heard,” Gwen said. “Why?”

Gwen watched the ambassador smile and clasp the cloaked male in her arms only to be pushed aside firmly as if her welcome and embrace did not matter. If Zade ever did that to her, he’d lose a kneecap-or whatever the Siren equivalent of one was.

“That male has a dark spirit,” Chiang said softly. “Do not trust him.”

“Oh, I don’t,” Gwen said firmly, no longer surprised at Chiang’s intuition or the fact that he was more open with sharing what he saw these days. Pursuing Boca Ador seemed to bringing out a whole new side of him. “The captain doesn’t trust the ambassador’s mate either. That’s why I’m acting as his shadow. Fortunately, I have inside info that he isn’t a natural intuitive. He has to be looking at you to read your energy.”

Chiang put a hand on Gwen’s arm as she started to walk away. “Take care, Commander. You would be wise to use your own intuition concerning him.”

Gwen smiled. “Worried about me, handsome?”

Chiang pulled his hand away and rolled his eyes. “Yes. Who will keep me humble if anything happens to you?”

“Boca might be willing to give that a go,” Gwen said.

“Doubtful,” Chiang said tightly. “Thanks to you, the Sumerian female detests me.”

“No, Boca likes you,” Gwen said, walking to the other side of the railing as the couple below her made their way slowly and casually to the transport lift. “She just doesn’t
want
to like you, Chiang. She doesn’t want to like any male after what she just survived. That’s not the same as not liking you personally.”

“Well, it feels the same,” Chiang said. “She ignores my every attempt to engage her in conversation. I have not even asked her to bond with me.”

“Maybe not, but I’d still bet several credits that you’ll have her panting in your bed before she leaves the Liberator,” Gwen said.

“Boca’s leaving the Liberator? When?” Chiang demanded, the thought of the Sumerian female leaving sending him into a panic. Then thoughts of her panting in his bed sent him into a panic of another kind.

“Oh, she’s not leaving for a while—or at least I don’t think she is. Boca just talks about it now and again,” Gwen said, turning in the direction the couple below was walking. “Can’t talk anymore about your new girlfriend right now, Chiang. Got to follow the bad guys.”

Chiang sighed as he walked after Gwen, following the upper railing until she climbed into the service lift that would bring her out on the main floor just moments before the dock transport lift arrived.

His stomach clenched and a shiver of dread passed over him as he watched the transport lift cage close around the ambassador and her visitor below.

Chiang walked back to his task and started putting his tools away. The intuitive dread he felt was getting to him. His impulse to check on Boca and see to her safety was suddenly more than his Greggor instincts could ignore. Sighing, he stood and headed to medical.

He hoped Zade was keeping an eye on Gwen.

***

“Sarinnea, you can’t leave on this particular supply ship,” Dorian argued. “I can’t explain why right now, but you’ll just have to wait for the next one. You’ve stayed this long. What’s one more week?”

Sarinnea reached up and patted his cheek. “Eli’oh, I’m going to miss you too. It won’t matter which ship takes me away. You know I’m not one of those creatures who can go for very long without a planet under my feet.”

Dorian ignored the flashing control panel until he couldn’t anymore. He walked to it and smacked it.

“Zade,” he said. “I’m hurrying.”

“They’re on their way to the captain’s quarters right now,” Gwen said.

“I’ll be right there,” Dorian answered, swinging his gaze back to the female smiling at him with affection. “Don’t do anything until we settle this, Sarinnea. Wait until I get back. We’ll arrange for you to leave on another ship soon. I need you to stay—I
want
you to stay.”

“Dorian, you’re too distracted to have this level of conversation right now. Go do what you must and come back quickly,” Sarinnea said.

“Okay—wait for me,” he ordered. “We’ll discuss your departure when I return.”

Dorian grabbed his uniform coat that he almost never wore on the Liberator, but his weapon was in it. He didn’t want to retrieve his weapon from the pocket and set off the parent alarm in Sarinnea. So far, they had kept the events of today only to a select handful of crew members who could block their energy from being read.

Gwen had picked up the blocking skill much easier than Dorian would have liked. Fortunately, he’d learned to block his thoughts from his parent long ago. Sarinnea was hard to deceive, even in minor things.

“You have my sincere affection. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Dorian said as he left.

Sarinnea nodded as her child rushed off to do who knew what. There was something important brewing around Captain Synar today. Dorian had been in a mood and had put up his energy shields, which he always did when it came to his work.

She looked around and saw Dorian’s desk com unit still open.

That’s it, Sarinnea thought, smiling at her own cleverness. She’d leave him a note explaining she just
had
to leave. And then she’d get out of Dorian’s way and let him get on with his life. She was certainly ready to get on with hers. He would understand her urgency once he reflected on it.

Visiting was nice, Sarinnea thought with a sigh as she sat down at Dorian’s desk, but now she wanted to go home.

***

Deciding her uniform was a better option than a meditation robe if she ended up fighting, Ania pulled the sides of the shirt out as far as they would go, but they still wouldn’t reach across her breasts with ease. The fasteners strained to hold her.

Malachi hovered, shifting himself and wavering into various shapes in the chair at Liam’s desk.

“Is that your misty way of laughing at me?” Ania asked finally. She was rapidly discovering that the demon had a wicked sense of humor, worse than Gwen’s.

Malachi pulled himself into more of a normal shape and solidified himself as much as he could.

“Are you trying to impress Conor with your chest glands? I actually had the other brother in mind when I made them bigger,” he said.

“You made them so large nothing fits. The larger shirts I borrowed are now too soiled to wear. If you’d just left my size alone, all my clothes would still be fine,” Ania said tersely.

“Do you want to hear why I find your complaining so amusing?” Malachi asked.

“No, but I’m sure you’re determined to tell me anyway,” Ania replied.

“Here we are waiting for a sadistic, fully trained demon master to appear any second, and you—a Khalsa—are only worried about how you look in your clothes,” Malachi chastised. “Some warrior you’re turning out to be. I had such high hopes after the hand-cutting-off episode.”

Huffing, Ania dropped her hands from her clothes. “I don’t know which is worse, hearing you nagging me in my head or having you out in mist where your annoying words hang in the air between us. You’re equally tiresome in both forms.”

The mist wavered and vibrated. “You are highly entertaining. Please do not get yourself harmed today. Aren’t you going to warn me about your plans now?”

“No. Just remember I’m your first concern if Conor Synar whips out a knife to stab someone,” Ania said harshly.

“Ah—there they are now. All these years apart and that male still thrills me when he’s near,” Malachi said, disappearing into Ania.

Remember—you can’t kill him
.

No, I can’t,
Ania agreed.
But make no mistake, demon, I am going to stop him. I expect your loyalty to be to me no matter how thrilling you find Conor Synar.

I guess that depends on what you have in mind,
Malachi sent.

Retribution—that’s what I have in mind,
Ania sent back.

We’ll see then,
Malachi returned.

Ania closed her eyes and walked through her mind, crossing the bridge to look at the memories of her spiritual life that Malachi had made for her. She admired the struggles and trials she had endured, yet there was no precedent among them for the actions she intended to take today.

Sighing heavily at the burdens she now carried, and for the one she was getting ready to take on, Ania prayed for guidance. She regularly visited the memories of her enlightenment here in the place Malachi had created for her, but it was much like Synar watching Earth entertainment vids. Those eight hundred years didn’t seem real to her now, instead they were more like seeing stories that had happened to someone else. The true experience of the memories was as elusive to her as the mist that was the demon’s true form.

She walked resolutely back across the mind bridge and into who she had become. Malachi’s possession had given her a second chance with Synar that would probably never have happened otherwise, but just as Dorian predicted, her new life was never going to be easy.

When Ania opened her eyes to the insistent knock at the door, she let the warrior that she had become again take over.

She called up Malachi’s power and felt him swell within her to do as she bid. She gladly embraced the power that Liam despised, happy to have it to help her, even as she also hoped that over time the power wouldn’t come to own her like it had before.

Chapter 28

When Ania jerked open the door, she saw Issa lifting her hand to knock a third time.

“
Shades of Kellnor, do you not possess any patience?
I was occupied trying to dress. Malachi and I felt Conor’s presence. Come inside quickly. You’ve made enough racket knocking to alarm anyone who saw you.”

They stepped across the threshold of the captain’s quarters, and Ania felt Malachi quiver inside her again as she closed the door behind them

“There are no surveillance devices in this room. Remove the hood and let me see your face,” Ania demanded.

Conor lifted his hand and pushed back the hood. Glancing at him, Ania grabbed Issa’s arm and pushed her to the bed. “You—sit. Stay there until I tell you to get up again.”

When Issa did as Ania demanded without complaint, Conor smiled in approval. She turned to him again, taking her time to look him over. He looked so much like his brother that Ania’s pulse jumped and she knew he knew it. This close to him, her emotional state was being telegraphed and amplified through Malachi.

“I admire your technique for getting others to obey you,” Conor said.

Ania walked around him slowly, looking him up and down. He was a bit taller than Liam, but leaner, and much less muscled. Just as powerful, she thought, but in a very different way.