Currently, Krista stared in fascination as Alex held out his hand, covered in ice. The Rime Thurs encased his hand in ice and melted it over and over again for the enjoyment of the young woman. And Krista thoroughly enjoyed it. She hopped up and down like a little kid. The unfortunate reality, in many ways, she was still a child.
“That is so cool. Literally!”
Krista laughed at her own joke. Kiernan and Alex joined in good-naturedly while Tabitha rolled her eyes. Celia didn’t want to interrupt the pleasant scene, but the second she stepped into the kitchen her sensible black pumps on the hardwood floor gave her away. Four heads turned almost simultaneously.
“Celia!” Krista’s face lit up as she raced across the kitchen, arms outstretched.
Celia avoided touch at all cost—except for Damien’s apparently, but she didn’t want to think about that now or her face would turn scarlet—but Krista was hard to resist. For one thing, the exuberant girl grabbed a person in a bear hug before they knew what hit them; also, she was such a sweet thing not even Celia had the heart to turn down her affections.
Krista told them she could see and hear everything while in her coma. It must have nearly killed the girl to watch the people she loved visit her everyday unable to feel the comfort of their touch. Celia could hardly imagine. She had never found much comfort in touch. Remembering last night, her body heated. She found comfort in it now.
Damien’s touch.
A flush of heat rose as she recalled the events of the previous night. It should have terrified her, but it didn’t. She knew deep in her heart Damien would never hurt her. Perhaps, that knowledge made her want to repeat last night’s escapades.
Repeat and then some.
“Celia, it’s so good to see you.” Krista gifted her with a megawatt smile.
She had only been gone a few weeks. Krista woke from her coma just before Celia left so the two hadn’t been acquainted long. In the short time she had known the young woman, Celia developed a fondness for the girl.
“It’s good to see you, too.” She laughed, returning the embrace before pulling away. “But what are you all doing here?”
Tabitha stepped forward. “Racine sent us.”
Remembering the news the last time Racine sent someone, her body tensed.
“Is it about Cory? Did they find her?”
Tabitha shook her head. “No and no. We’re still looking, but it appears she’s gone. I still can’t believe she betrayed us like that.”
A shameful sense of responsibility for the betrayal continued to eat at Celia. After all, she’d made Cory her assistant and gave the woman access to all the weapons and information on hand. The spilled blood due to Cory’s betrayal rested squarely on her head. She would have to deal with that for the rest of her life.
“It wasn’t your fault, Celia,” Kiernan said, as if he sensed her feelings of guilt. “None of us suspected Cory of being anything other than who she said she was. We were all fooled.”
“Yes, but I made her my right hand. Privileged her to sensitive information. Information she used against us. Information that got people hurt—”
“It’s not your fault. She made her own choices. She and she alone is responsible for the consequences of those choices.”
Celia opened her mouth to protest.
“You should just agree with him,” Tabitha interrupted. “When he’s right, he’s like a dog with a bone.”
Kiernan grabbed his Tira around the waist, pulling her close and nuzzling her ear. “I seem to remember you liking my bone very much.”
“Kiernan! Not in front of my sister.” Tabitha smacked him on the shoulder, but she had a lovesick grin on her face so Celia doubted the force behind that smack.
Krista snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Like I didn’t know what you guys were doing on the plane when you spilled your coffee and you both had to go ‘wash up’ in the bathroom. You joined the Mile High Club.”
Now Tabitha turned bright red. “How do you even know what that is?”
“I was in a coma, Tabitha, not dead.”
Tabitha’s face fell. When her sister’s previous condition arose, the young woman always shouldered the burden. Much like Celia with Cory, Tabitha took the responsibility for her sister.
Celia never had anyone rely on her. She did not understand the hardship of caring for someone else, but she imagined it was a heavy one. To assuage Tabitha’s guilt, she brought the conversation back around to her original question.
“So if not for Cory, then why are you here?”
Tabitha straightened, in Enforcer mode now. “Racine wanted us to show you something. A…side effect, if you will, of being a Drone.”
Side effect? Other than the unimaginable horrors one witnessed being done by the Kako with your soul, what possible effect could being a Drone have on a person? She glanced toward Krista. The young girl’s face brightened.
“Wait ’til you see it, Celia. It’s sooooo cool!”
Krista then turned toward Alex. “Would you mind being part of a demonstration?”
Alex eyed the girl warily. “Depends…what are you demonstrating?”
“It’s cooler if I just do it,” Krista said, her eyes bright with mischief. “Pleeeeeease?”
Alex chuckled, shaking his head. Apparently, Celia wasn’t the only who couldn’t say no to the boisterous young lady.
“We certainly want it to be cool, don’t we?”
“Yes! Thank you. I promise not to hurt you.”
Alex’s eyebrows rose at the last comment.
Now, Celia was utterly confused. How could Krista—who surely didn’t weigh more than one fifteen soaking wet—hurt Alex, an Ice Giant able to kill a man with his pinky? The answer given quickly as Krista grabbed the large man by his wrist and slung him over her shoulder as if tossing out a used napkin.
Alex slammed onto the floor with a loud grunt. The ground shook. A few pots came loose from the hanging rack on the ceiling and fell with a clatter to the floor. Alex rose to his elbows, shooting the tiny woman a stunned look. Celia knew her face held the same expression. How had the small human done that?
“Cool, right?” Krista preened, looking very pleased with herself.
Celia was not quite sure what to say. Before she could think of anything, the door to the kitchen burst open. Damien rushed in appearing poised for a fight. He stopped short at the three visitors in his kitchen. None of them looked terribly threating, but Alex lay on the ground so the man had to wonder what happened.
“Damien.” She rushed over to his side, eager to waylay any misunderstandings before things got out of control. “Guys, this is Damien, the head of region eight council. Damien, this is Kiernan, Tabitha, and her sister Krista.”
****
Damien glanced around the kitchen, eyeing the strangers. The names sounded familiar for some reason.
“They dealt with Stryden. You sent Saint, Cade and Barrett to help,” Celia went on to explain.
Oh yes, that’s why I know those names.
The young girl—small enough to break in half with his little finger, somehow stood over Alex as if she had taken him down—stepped toward him with her hand held out. He took her extended hand expecting a dainty soft shake. What he got was a vise grip that almost broke his fingers.
Maybe this little girl did take out Alex. What was she?
“I didn’t deal with anything actually.” Krista smiled at him cheerfully. “I just slept in a bed for ten years while a bastard Kako used my soul for power.”
“Krista!” Tabitha exclaimed looking dismayed, guilty and shocked all at the same time.
“I’m fine, sis, really. And he was a bastard, but at least I got some cool powers out of the whole thing.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down, nodding her head toward Alex who rose from the floor.
So she did lay Alex out. That had to be painful. Tossed to the ground by a female less than half his size. Damien was all for gender equality, but it still hurt a man’s ego to ge
t beat up by a girl.
“Now that we’ve all been introduced, what are you doing here and why was Alex on the floor?”
“Just a little demonstration of what happens when you’re a former Drone,” Krista answered.
“That’s quite impressive, young lady.”
If possible, her smile got even brighter. “If you think that’s cool, you should see me fly!”
His eyes grew round with shock. “You can fly?”
“No.” The young woman gave him an impish grin. “But the look on your face is almost as funny as the look on Racine’s when I told him that. Whatever powers I acquired while being a Drone, growing wings is, unfortunately, not one of them.”
“What do you mean powers you acquired?” Celia asked.
“That’s why we are here.” Tabitha stepped forward. “Apparently after waking, a Drone acquires the strength of the Kako that used their soul. Krista discovered her new, um, powers I guess you could call them, and showed Racine. He sent us here to show you in person.”
Tabitha addressed him for the last part. He understood the head of region seven’s decision. This discovery couldn’t be shared over the phone. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he would have believed Racine. Who would have thought a tiny human girl could have the strength and power of a Daemon?
“There’s something else too,” the man—Kiernan, he remembered—spoke. Placing a gentle hand on Krista’s shoulder, he nudged her forward. “Go on, kiddo.”
The young woman twisted her hands nervously. Her spunky cheer dimmed as she glanced at the floor.
“I’m still remembering stuff…you know from before, when I was…”
She paused. The words caught in her throat as her eyes filled. Damien had no doubt she had seen horrors beyond imagination. It made him sad and angry all at the same time. He wanted to get these Kako bastards now more than ever.
Krista cleared her throat. Her back straightening, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Courage and determination replaced her fear. His opinion of the girl rose even higher.
“Anyway, sometimes in my dreams I remember more. A few nights ago, I had a dream, a memory really, about Stryden meeting with some shadowy guy in a long black flowy robe. It was dark and they were in a cemetery or somewhere really creepy. I couldn’t tell, but the guy taught him something. That Kako language because I recognized some of the words.”
“You understood the Kako language?” Celia inched closer to the girl.
“At first, yeah. Somehow, I could pick out the words in the other languages that made up this one; Latin, German, I even understood the Demon ones. Though I don’t know how.”
That gave credence to Celia’s theory the Kako language was a mash up of many other languages.
“But then the guy in the robe did something…I think it was a spell and then the words got all jumbled like constantly changing. It was weird. Stryden repeated the words Robe Guy said and the language started to click again, but then I woke up.” Krista looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry, that’s all I remember.”
Damien pulled the young woman into a brief hug. She was so strong and brave. To survive the tragedy of what had been done to her took astounding strength. Most people would have gone mad with all the horrors in their memories, but Krista not only kept a clear head on her shoulders, she had a cheer and vitality about her that spit in the face of the Kako who used her soul.
“Thank you, Krista. That is very valuable information indeed. Celia suspected a spell on the language. In fact, we just recently gathered supplies to enact the counter curse.”
“Aw, man. You guys already knew? Fat lot of help I am.”
“Don’t say that, Krista.” Celia came around to the girl’s other side. “Every bit of information we can glean helps.”
He felt a smile tip his lips as Celia comforted Krista. The woman had endured hell growing up. Tortured by someone who was supposed to love and protect her. Demonized for something she had no control over. Yet Celia didn’t hate the world. She didn’t blame life for her unfair treatment or use it as an excuse to do harm to others. No, she rose above her dark past. She was caring and kind, with a heart as big as her beautiful emerald eyes. She was smart and unbelievably sexy. And she was his. After last night, no way would he let go. Some primal force inside him roared at the thought that he and he alone was the man she let inside. Physically and emotionally.
After they broke the curse, it would be easier to track down these Kako bastards. Maybe they’d even discover the leader. Yes, things would get easier once they broke the curse and understood the language. Then Damien could focus fully on the Witch in front of him. And work on getting her under him.
Chapter 10
Tabitha, Kiernan, and Krista decided to stay for a few days. Damien set them up in the guest room next to Celia. Since it was obvious how in love Kiernan and Tabitha were—they practically set the house on fire with their glances alone—Celia offered to let Krista bunk with her. The young girl accepted with her usual gleeful cheer.
Honestly, Celia had selfish reasons for inviting Krista to share a room with her. The scientist in her wanted to examine the young woman’s capabilities. She wanted to explore what powers the girl had obtained. It fascinated her. If she didn’t have a curse to break, Celia would have taken Krista down to region eight’s lab right away to start examining her. But she did have a curse to break so Krista’s new strength and species had to wait.
Celia sat in her borrowed office going over the spell to break the curse on the Kako language. A simple confusion spell with a counter spell except for…
“Damn it!” Frustration boiling, she slammed a hand on the desk. Immediate regret set in as her hand started to throb. What is this desk made of, stone?
“What’s wrong?”
Rubbing her self-injured hand, she looked up at the sound of the deep familiar voice.
“I think I broke my hand on your stupid desk. Is it steel?”
Damien walked over to the desk. He gently took her hand in his own, rubbing it between his very talented fingers. The gesture sweet and soothing, making her think of the other things he had done with those fingers just last night.
“Oak actually. Any reason you’re beating up my office furniture?”
The rubbing distracted her. Her mind wandered to other things she wished he would rub. Her face heated and she knew she must have been blushing from the grin on Damien’s face. Extracting her hand from his, she pushed her glasses up her nose.
“I was just going over the counter spell and I discovered something.”
“What?”
“It has to be performed under a full moon.”
“And that’s a problem because?”
She sighed. “The next full moon isn’t for another week.”
A soft curse left his lips. “I can see why you hit the desk. I kind of feel like knocking down the filing cabinet.”
She chuckled. The fact Damien went from an irritant to a comfort in such a short time amazed her. She was eager to perform the counter curse and finally have a breakthrough with the Kako language, but at the same time, she hesitated to complete her mission. Decoding the Kako language meant she would go back home to Colorado. She would have to leave Damien.
She never traveled much, never had the inclination to do so. Work always took up too much time for a break or travel. Something Bucky pointed out to her a time or two. But she loved her job, it was her life, so she never felt the need for a break from it. Now she wondered if there was more to life than work.
She had no idea what was happening between her and Damien, but for the first time in her life, the touch of another person didn’t make her shrink back in fear. Celia wanted to explore the feelings Damien’s touch incited in her. She wanted to explore him. When all this Kako business ended, would he want her to stay? Would they continue their relationship long distance? Was it even a relationship? Having never experienced one, she had no idea.
“Hey, don’t worry.” Damien gently brushe
d her cheek with the back of his fingers, mistaking her despondent mood. “It’s only one more week. You’re doing a great job, Celia. We will take these Kakos down. I promise.”
“What happened to the controlling hard-ass riding me just the other day?”
Silver-gray eyes lit with a sensual heat. “If you want me to ride you, all you have to do is ask.”
A tingle of awareness spread over her body. Her heart started racing so hard she was sure he heard it. His hand came up to stroke her cheek. Her eyes closed of their own volition. She felt his warm breath on her lips as he came closer and closer and—
“Hey, Celia, I wondered if—whoops! Sorry, I can come back later.”
Celia opened her eyes and turned to see Krista standing in the open doorway. She took a step back from Damien. The mood broken.
For now anyway.
“No, Krista, it’s all right. What do you need?”
“Are you sure? I can come back later if you guys are…busy.”
The young girl waggled her eyebrows. Even though a bit embarrassed for being caught, Celia had to suppress a laugh.
“It’s fine. We were just discussing the spell. What do you need?”
Krista gave her a look that said she knew exactly what they were doing and it was not a discussion.
“I need a favor.”
“I’ll just step out and give you two some privacy.” Damien headed for the door, but Krista held up a hand.
“No please. This is actually a favor from you.”
“Me?”
Pale blue eyes gave an anxious glance out the door before the young woman shut it. Whatever troubled the poor girl, Celia hoped Damien would be able to help. Though why she had not asked her sister or even Racine was a puzzle. With a nod of satisfaction they were now alone, Krista spoke.
“I need training.”
“What do you mean training?”
“To fight.”
At Damien’s skeptical look, Krista continued.
Daemon Deception Page 8
