The Demon's Change

by Donna McDonald

  “Great. Those older females should fit in quite well on the Guardian 13. Let’s put them next to the Siren escorts Liam has hired to pleasure the unmated males of our crew,” Ania said.

  Dorian frowned. “What attitude is that in your tone, Ania? Do the Siren females actually bother you? They fundamentally scientists. You’ve served alongside them before and never cared.”

  Ania shrugged off the fair question. She was tired of defending every bloody opinion she had. “I guess everything bothers me these days,” she said.

  “Gestation mood swings, Lieutenant. Chiang and I have been discussing strategies of how to handle it in someone like Ania,” Malachi declared. “Right, Doctor?”

  In the three seconds Chiang took to glare at his betrayer, equally intense glares from two of the most dangerous beings on the ship were swung his way. He narrowed his gaze on the grinning demon. Malachi was dangerous too, but far worse than that, the demon’s need to make him as uncomfortable as possible was turning into a bad habit.

  “Now you’ve disappointed me. We were getting along so well this morning,” Chiang said, avoiding eye contact with both Ania and Zade.

  “Aye,” Malachi replied, “but I’m nervous and need to distract myself.”

  Chiang shook his head. “The emissary’s body—”

  “You mean, my angel’s body,” Malachi corrected.

  Chiang snorted and looked at the bed. “Is that what you want us to call you?”

  Pushing the covers away, she rose to a seated position. “No. I do not like being called that name. Nor do I want to be addressed as Rena Trax as she wished her death to become official. But since I have come to serve Malachi as well as the children of Ania Looren, I will allow the demon to give me a name, so long as it is not derogatory.”

  Malachi tilted his head in surprise. “Really? I get to officially name you?”

  She nodded with lips compressed into a frown.

  Ania swore under her breath while Dorian laughed beside her. “Liam is never going to believe this,” she exclaimed.

  “No, indeed,” Dorian said. “I think I’ll just go apprise the Commander of these events before I relieve her to get some rest.”

  Ania placed her hand on Dorian’s arm as he started to leave. “Wait one moment.”

  She turned to the entity in the bed, now sitting up and looking around. “Do you mean us further harm?” The frown and head shake she got in answer were not reassuring.

  Ania lifted her hand to the female and curled her fingers into her palm. The body on the bed doubled over in pain.

  She looked back at Dorian then and bowed her head. “Everything is going to be fine. It looks like I can control Malachi’s angel if I need to do so.”

  Chapter 20

  Karr kept his lips compressed at the debate going on around him. While his small ruse concerning the life force had worked to some degree, it looked like Dayena’s test results were still going to present a problem. None of the tested females had matched the Allurean’s recorded information, but several of their subjects had shown up with inconclusive results. He was certain Dayena was one of them since her results were mostly his.

  “Kefira said the last time she viewed the Allurean face-to-face, the female had appeared younger than her. However, she said she thought she could convey the energy signature information to Malachi well enough for him to be able to tell which of our suspects holds it, no matter how advanced the subject’s age,” Synar said.

  “How can Malachi determine the energy signature so accurately? Is he trained on some kind of specialty equipment?” Karr asked. All gazes swung to him and their shock made him self-conscious. “What? It seems like a reasonable question to me.” Plus he wanted to know what they would be using on Dayena.

  Synar swore in Norblade. He’d forgotten to brief Karr about Malachi being a demon. There was really no time to go into the whole story right then. “Malachi is intuitive on a level that exceeds other types of beings. You might say he’s a prodigy at reading energy.”

  Karr nodded, thinking it odd that the rest of the team seemed to sag in relief when he accepted the captain’s answer. Were they hiding things from him? Or was he just being paranoid because he knew he was hiding something from them?

  “Are the females going to go with us willingly?” Seta asked.

  Synar looked at his mission team lead. “Willing or not, those with uncertain results will be returning to the ship with us. I doubt any of them or their families will want to face the Norblade Council of Elders for possible treason. I imagine going to the ship briefly for further testing will seem a lesser evil to suffer at our hands.”

  Seta nodded. “When do we depart with our prisoners?”

  “Let’s not call them prisoners,” Synar said, wincing at the term.

  “What should we call them instead?” Karr asked.

  Synar sighed over Karr’s innocent question. Next time he had a search and find mission, he was bringing a team that was less hung up on semantics. “Let’s call them research subjects who are going to be helping us find someone very important to the Peace Alliance.”

  “Research subjects? You expect them to accept that?” Boca asked.

  Synar glared at her. “Yes. Research subjects.” He swung his glare to include the rest of them. “Anybody else got anything to say about what we call them?”

  When silence was his answer, Synar passed out names and locations for each female they needed to retrieve.

  “Sir, I’d like to pick up Dayena, if you don’t mind,” Karr volunteered.

  Synar froze. “How did you know Dayena was one of our subjects?”

  Karr’s heart beat hard twice in his chest before he answered. “Intuition,” he said. “Plus there’s something about her that nags at me.”

  “You can say that again,” Boca declared, laughing at the glare she got from Karr. “Dayena favors Karr. It embarrasses him, but it’s true, Captain. She will probably come along peacefully if Karr asks her to.”

  “One more word and I will tell your mate that you wept for him every night you were away,” Karr said, glaring at his betrayer.

  Synar clapped his hands together, fighting off his grin at their bickering. “Enough fighting, children. Let’s get the females rounded up and to the shuttle. We’ve got an armed transport vehicle waiting for us at the edge of the village.”

  ***

  “I can’t go to your ship with you, Karr. They’ll turn me over to your Medical staff and the truth will come out about me,” Dayena said.

  “Aye. I can’t stop them from testing you again, but I can speak on your behalf if anything comes up in your results. You can trust me, Dayena. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t go back to prison,” Karr promised. “Here, let me carry your bag.”

  He took it from her hand and held out his other one for her to hold as they walked.

  “Please don’t make me do this,” Dayena pleaded, ignoring his hand. “While my life here at the tavern is limited, it is the first freedom I’ve had in a very long time. If I must die soon, I would rather it be on my own terms. This is not a great deal to ask at my age.”

  Karr shook his head but set down her bag. He walked to Dayena and pulled her into his arms to hold. Her sniffling against his shirt made him feel ill. He didn’t want to put her through this. He didn’t want to put himself through it either. Part of him wished he’d never set eyes on her so he wouldn’t care, but the female in his arms had already carved her way into his heart. “I swear by the Creators, I will not let true harm come to you.”

  “You are so young, so naïve in your trusting,” Dayena said tearfully. “As weak I am, I have no choice but to let you force me to serve your will instead of my own.”

  Karr picked up her bag again and held out his hand once more.

  Ignoring it again and shaking her head, Dayena walked ahead of him and headed down the stairs at a slow pace. She looked around the tavern as they passed through it, watching her freedom slipping away o
ne step at a time. No matter how far she stayed ahead of her previous captors, another set always managed to find her. Hadn’t that always been the case?

  If only she had been able to train as a warrior, she might have shown them what it was like to rebel. She would round on the male that followed her quietly and take him down with a single sweep of her leg. But if she tried such a move in her current body condition, she’d break her hip and be rendered completely immobile.

  Her head hung with the helplessness that age had foisted on her. Tears streamed down her face, but none of the Norblade males she had served in the tavern raised a single hand in protest. Her sadness meant nothing to them.

  She was suffering alone, just like she always had.

  ***

  Ania stood quietly by Dorian’s side as the shuttle entered the Guardian 13’s docking bay. They waited silently while the area was pressurized and breathable air was pumped into it. At last, the vacuum shield was raised.

  They walked quickly to the shuttle as the ramp was being lowered. Out poured Synar and Boca, followed closely by several older females of varying ages. Boca walked a short distance away from the ramp and pointed to the elevators.

  “If you’ll come with me, we’ll get you registered in Medical. Afterwards, Ensign Karr and I will see to it that you are assigned quarters for the duration of your stay. You may consider yourself guests on our ship, but you must conduct yourself well to be treated that way. If you cause trouble, you will be the first to test out the Guardian 13’s new holding cells.”

  Ania raised her eyebrows at the last statement. “Why is Boca being such a hardass warrior with these old females? They don’t look like such a rowdy bunch to me.”

  Synar shrugged. “You didn’t hear all the complaining and whining we heard on the way here. My ears are still ringing.”

  Ania laughed, but stopped as she watched Karr walking down the ramp holding on to a strange looking, but obviously very frightened female who was having trouble walking. Soft fluttering inside her mid-section had her taking a closer look. Apparently even the barely sentiment beings inside her were reading the same strangeness she was. Her progeny were proving to be very intuitive. “Who is that female with Karr? Are those actual feathers growing over her ears?”

  Synar sighed. “Yes—I believe they are real feathers. That strange looking female was waiting tables at the tavern. First mission and the kid got emotionally attached. He’s going to need some work.”

  “I think Karr is a bit more than just attached to her,” Ania commented.

  “What do you mean?” Synar asked, alerted to his intuitive mate’s tone.

  They were distracted from their discussion by Boca yelling as she herded the more reluctant females into the elevator. Some were not taking her orders very well.

  “I believe I’ll go see if I can calm their concerns some,” Dorian said, walking away to follow the departing crew.

  Ania studied Karr and the female as they slowly made their way to the elevator where Boca was impatiently tapping her foot as she held it for them.

  “Now back to our discussion,” Synar said.

  “I’m not sure what I’m seeing between them. Just a weird feeling I’m getting. I’ll let you know if anything becomes clear to me.”

  When Karr and the elderly female had finally disappeared behind the closing elevator doors, Synar turned to his mate. “Got a better greeting for me?”

  Ania lifted her arms and let him pull her close for a kiss. Footsteps stomping down the ramp broke them apart before their embrace could turn into desire. She pulled away from Synar to meet the snapping gaze of Seta Trax glaring at them. Lifting an eyebrow in question, she watched the female reel in her negative reaction, but the Ethosian’s gaze never did reach friendly.

  “Welcome back, Lieutenants,” Ania said, shifting her study from Seta Trax to the glaring Siren who followed her. He seemed equally displeased to have witnessed their hugging. She’d have to mention their animosity to Dorian.

  “Lieutenant Trax? The captain and I need to speak to you privately. I wish it could wait until you have rested, but I’m afraid it can’t,” Ania said.

  “I assume this is some bad news or the other about Rena’s recent delusion.” Seta knew her tone was too sharp to be respectful.

  And for reasons she was unwilling to explore, she couldn’t stop frowning at the Captain and his mate. She had known something had happened with Rena, had sensed it even before they left the planet. Synar though had adamantly refused to discuss any details until they got back. He had assured her that everything had been done that could be done.

  “I am tired, but let’s get the uncomfortable discussion over with so I can go get some rest,” Seta said.

  Ji’s intention was to head to Engineering and find something to bang out his anger on, but he checked his progress as he passed Seta. He turned back, instincts humming that the news she was about to receive would not be good. “Seta? Do you wish me to remain with you? It would be my honor to do so.”

  “Not in any lifetime I will ever have,” Seta replied without looking at the male who had just made the nicest offer he’d ever made to her. She just wasn’t up for playing nice right now.

  “As you wish,” he said.

  They all heard Ji swearing under his breath in Siren as he picked up his pace and walked away as fast as he could.

  “Did something bad happen between you and Lieutenant Warro while you were on planet?” Ania asked.

  “Nothing worth mentioning,” Seta replied. “My concern is only about my sibling at the moment.”

  “Very well,” Ania said, bowing her head to the irritated female. “Let’s go to the small conference room on the main deck. Malachi will be joining us there later. He is bringing along someone else who has information to share with you as well.”

  Seta followed them as they made their way to the elevator. She felt a pair of eyes monitoring her progress, but didn’t turn to glare. She didn’t want Ji to know that she was that tuned in to his every action. And she certainly didn’t want him to know how badly she wanted him to hold her. That was a weakness she had no plans of giving into.

  Chapter 21

  Seta paced around the small conference room, scowling at inanimate objects as she tried not to lash out at her captain and the stoic female staring at her. Ania Looren had no sympathy in her spirit.

  “Why wasn’t I told when it first happened? You could have contacted me as easily as Rena did.”

  “You were told as soon as we could make sense of it ourselves, Lieutenant. Before her departure, Rena even informed Malachi that she had tried to explain it all to you. The obstinate disbelief you are displaying might have kept you from hearing her words,” Ania said.

  “Rena shared her delusion with me. That is not the same as explaining,” Seta insisted.

  Ania released a frustrated sigh. “Lieutenant, it is no delusion. Rena is gone. Another entity is in her physical body. You personally know such things are possible, though it is understandable that your grief for your sibling will affect your logic for a time.”

  Seta stood with her hands clenched. “I don’t accept that hosting another being means the original has to die. Look at me. I am not gone. I am still here. Why could Rena have not stayed?”

  “I don’t know why,” Ania said, “but I do believe this is her choice. Play the recording for her, Liam.”

  Rena appeared on a screen at the front of the room, her projected image too large to be ignored. Seta had no choice but to turn and listen.

  “Forgive me Seta, but this is something I have to do. I know you are going to be angry over my decision. I tried to tell you when we spoke last, but I couldn’t make you hear my words as truth. As I said I would, I sent a recording of our conversation to your personal com. When you have come to terms with my death, listen to it again. You have my full compassion. Please try to be kind to the being now in my body. She will be using it for a higher purpose than I ever did. Be well, Seta. It is my wish
that you find happiness.”

  Pain gripped her hard as Seta watched Rena lean forward and cut the com off. Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying all the memories of their unhappy life on Ethos, of her time in the academy, of Rena’s studies—or was that even her sibling?

  She was so confused.

  Rena had told her she had actually died the first time on Ethos. Could that possibly be true? If so, how could she not have known?

  The conference room door slid open and Malachi entered. At his side was the mirror image of herself wearing some of Rena’s favorite clothes and adornments. Seta waited while they approached her. She winced at the shining blue-white gaze of the stranger as . hope died within her.

  “You’re really not Rena, are you?” she asked.

  Seta watched the entity in Rena’s body shake her head.

  “No. I am not. For your benefit, I am showing you more of my true self than I will show to others outside this room. Rena Trax made an honorable choice to return to the Creators. I regret you have to grieve her loss for a second time in your life . I have a sincere compassion for your emotional burden.”

  “Who are you then?” Seta demanded.

  “I am a servant of the Creators sent to help those on this ship.”

  “You can call her Angel,” Malachi said, earning him a glare. “Don’t look at me that way. You said I could name you and I have chosen. I will not be changing my mind.”

  Chin up, the emissary nodded tightly. “Very well.” Looking away from the spiteful demon, she looked back at Seta Trax. “Since I let the demon name me, I suppose you may address me as he says. I will try to remember to answer to that moniker when you speak it.”

  Seta shook head, pacing back and forth, back and forth. “I’m still not convinced. Perhaps you are Rena and just confused. Perhaps she is within you like the Demon Zorinda is in me. This could all just be . . .aaah,” she called in alarm, backing up when female eyes that were a mirror of hers blazed an even more brilliant blue.