***
It seemed like forever before Ian and Michelle were back. His sword was still in one hand, his other arm supporting the wolf demon around the waist. She had a new foot-long gash running deep across her stomach, the vial clutched tightly in her hand. She jumped on the bed, tearing the stopped out with her teeth, then poured the entire thing down her daughter’s throat. Mickala was still as death, her eyes wide open but unseeing. Several seconds went by before she swallowed out of reflex.
In less than a minute, Mickala’s face smoothed out as the antidote freed her from the pain, and the bleeding slowed. Nehela tried to heal her again, a faint purple glow around her, and the wounds knitting themselves together. “How long until we know if it worked?” Aiden asked, his face full of worry.
Michelle sighed. “I don’t know. The Kaldiss has been in her system for a long time. We just have to wait it out. I want to know how Valez found her so fast after she unshielded.” She shook her head at Aiden, who was opening his mouth to apologize. “It’s nowhere near your fault, Aiden. No matter how tightly she shielded, her power was bursting at the seams. You and Ian felt that from day one. It’s just, it’s almost as if he was already around and waiting for her to reveal herself.”
“Let me see your stomach,” Nehela said, looking at her.
The wolf demon rolled her eyes. “It’s just a scratch.”
Nehela crossed her arms even as Ian raised an eyebrow. “A scratch? Michelle, a scratch is only an inch or two. This is six times that. If you call that a scratch, I’d hate to see what you would consider serious. Speaking of which, Aiden, how’s your head?” Aiden just glared at him, but Ian smirked, very unconcerned.
Both demons scowled, but they knew the elf wouldn’t leave them alone, so Michelle finally stood. Nehela quickly healed the wound, and she swayed slightly, but Ian was right there to steady her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’ll be fine, thanks.” She moved onto Aiden, who sighed and rolled his eyes, grumbling about how unnecessary it was. “Of course, it is,” she agreed, her eyes steady on his, and he finally gave in, parting his hair on the back of his head, and the deep cut was quickly healed up.
Ian felt Aiden’s eyes on him, and he looked from Nehela to his friend. He saw the silver eyebrows arched up, the amusement in his golden eyes. Shut up, Aiden.
The fox chuckled quietly. What was that about lovesick demons?
Shut up. This time, Ian’s mental voice was a low growl. Aiden just laughed.
Michelle looked at Ian and Nehela. “I know both of you are probably tired. It was a hard fight for Ian, and a difficult healing for you, Nehela. If you’d like, you’re more than welcome to stay and recover your strength.”
Ian sagged to the floor where he stood, and Nehela sat in one of Mickala’s chairs, thanking her. Michelle felt her daughter’s forehead. “It’s still warm, but it’s cooling.” A couple of minutes later, they all heard Travis come in with the dogs, and she stood. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get some ice for her fever.”
She went into the kitchen and began filling a Ziploc bag with ice and wrapped it in a towel. Travis came in. “Is everything okay?”
“Mickala’s really sick. We were talking, then she sudden ran the bathroom, and she’s got a really high fever.”
“Does she need to go to the hospital?” Travis asked, and she smiled at the concern in his voice.
“You know Mickala. She doesn’t want to, but if she’s not any better by in the morning, I’m going to make her go. I’m just going to stay with her tonight, though.”
“Good. If you or she needs anything, just let me know.”
She kissed him gently. “Thanks, love, and I will.” She went back to the room, and no one looked as if they had moved an inch. It was a long night, with none of them barely sleeping.
***
Mickala woke up early in the morning, the light barely making it through her tightly drawn curtains, but her head was pounding as if a herd of elephants were tap dancing through it, and there was an even deeper pain in her side. Clouds covered the sun, but even the faint light was enough to make her close her eyes tightly. When she finally could open them, she looked around the room. Michelle and Aiden weren’t there, and a man who had to have been Ian was sitting in the chair beside her bed. She hardly had the energy to be surprised when she recognized him. He saw her eyes open, and he smirked. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said. It was definitely Ian.
“Hi, Ian. It’s nice to finally meet you face to face. How long have I been out?”
“Two days. Michelle told Travis you were sick, which I suppose was true enough. Aiden’s taking a much-needed shower.” He wrinkled his nose, and she gave a surprised laugh.
She gasped sharply, grabbing at her side. “Who healed me?”
“Nehela. She said you’d be sore for a few days.”
“Nehela?”
Ian’s smirked deepened. “I guess we run in some of the same circles.” She asked about Valez. “Hopefully, he’s gone.” All traces of humor left his face. “Why didn’t you tell us about him?”
She lowered her eyes. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
“Really? Not that big of a deal? And how many times have you died because of him?” she asked.
“A couple,” she replied.
He raised his eyebrows. “You call being killed six times a couple, that it’s not that big of a deal? In just what? Four and a half centuries?” He shook his head in disbelief. “You and your mother love to downplay everything.”
“Call it a family habit.”
“So it would seem.”
“What would telling you have done, Ian?”
“We could’ve kept a closer eye out, been more alert.”
“Do you really think I’ve not being doing that already? Why do you think I’ve kept myself so tightly shielded I get reaction headaches for the past five hundred years? Do you think you would’ve been able to prevent what happened? He wasn’t even in this realm. I’ve got a good range on my telepathy, but even I’m not that good. Could you or Aiden have done better?”
It was Ian’s turn to be quiet. “You still should have at least told us.”
“He was my fight, Ian,” she said. “I was just hoping I could forget about him.”
“Well, he obviously thought you were worth remembering,” Ian replied, his voice dry.
She surprised him by laughing. “Yeah, I guess I have that effect on people.” Ian had to laugh himself, but her next words died in her throat, and her head snapped around at the sound of the shower cutting off. She appeared to have forgotten Ian completely, and he laughed to himself. Aiden came out, still in his demon form, toweling his silver hair.
***
The towel fell from his fingers as he saw her eyes open, and he was at her side in an instant. Ian disappeared to give them privacy as he took her hands. “How do you feel?”
“As bad as I look, I’m sure, and weak.” She hated to admit it, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good to deny it. Somehow, the faint scars on his chest didn’t surprise her. Why should they? He’s a human loving traitor, just like us.
“Michelle and Nehela said you would, that it was a side effect of the Kaldiss.” Her face drained of what little color it had regained, and his fox ears picked up on how her heart began racing just at the mention of the poison. “You’ve heard of it, too?” She nodded. “Ian and Michelle got the antidote from Valez, but she was worried it might not have been in time.”
“How’s Mom?”
“She’s fine. She got cut on her stomach, but Nehela healed it in no time. Ian and I talked her into going to work today. I realize where you get your stubbornness from.”
Mickala laughed, ignoring the pain in her side. “Just wait until you meet Victor. I don’t know if I rubbed off on him, or if it’s the other way around.”
He rolled his eyes playfully. “Wonderful. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She smiled. “I’ll be fine
.” She grinned as he yawned. “Tired?”
“Very. That first night, I think we got maybe three hours of sleep between us. Even Ian was worried.”
“So, what’s the story on Ian, anyway? I feel like he could be extremely dangerous if he wanted.”
Aiden hesitated. Go ahead, Ian told him. You know my history as well as I do.
Six
Traitors
Mickala raised an eyebrow. “Getting permission?”
He heard the teasing her voice. “Something like that, but you’re right. He was dangerous, and still is.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I guess I’d better start at the beginning. Ian’s an orphan. His parents were killed when he was still a small child. With him being a dragon demon, he probably would’ve survived on his own, but a group of demon raiders found him. They raised him, taught him his swordsmanship, and he advanced quickly through the ranks.
“He quickly outstripped his teacher, and he began going on the raids to the human world. He’d always been on the small side, and he could get in places others couldn’t. As he grew, he learned to hate humans, and to especially hate the demons who helped them and lived in the human realm peacefully. He became completely ruthless, killing without discrimination. Everyone was just means to an end for him. Whenever someone had served their purpose, they were disposed of. Eventually, he took over the group, and his express desire had nothing to do with raids. His one concern was to hunt down the traitors, and he was determined and unforgiving in his mission. That’s when we met.”
“Ian tried to kill you.” It wasn’t a question, and her eyes were wide.
Aiden nodded. “Fortunately, I still had a few friends in the demon world, and they warned me I was in danger. I had enough time to get ready for them when they came. It was in the middle of the night, and they were hoping to catch me off guard. He sent four of his soldiers ahead of him, and they didn’t take too long to get rid of. He knew I would kill them. He just wanted me tired before he jumped in himself. He moves like lightning and is twice as dangerous, especially with his sword. It took everything I had to stay alive, and to this day, it was my hardest fight. He’s the reason I have most of these scars, actually,” he said, indicating his chest.
“I barely managed to knock him out, and by then, my demon blood was boiling. It took everything I had learned about compassion in the human realm to not kill him. My whole being wanted him dead, but I finally controlled it. I bandaged him up, and it was almost three days before he came around. As soon as he did, he tried to fight me again. I subdued him before he hurt himself worse.”
“I bet it surprised him you hadn’t killed him.”
“You can say that again. It took another four days before Ian left. He was waiting for his group to come and get him so they could finish take me out, I guess, but they never showed. He realized they never would, that they considered him just as expendable as he did them. When I came home one day, he was just gone. I’m not even going to lie to you, Mickala. The relief I felt was immense. Sleeping with one eye open was one of the primary reasons I left the demon realm. I thought I was done with him, and I thought nothing else about it. He wasn’t the first one to ever some after me, and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be the last. I was right and wrong at the same time.
“About two hundred years later, in the mid-1600s, I was living in another part of the world, under another name. One day, I came home, and there he was, sitting in front of my house. I thought he was going to fight me again, sort of like tying up loose ends, but he said no. He had left the demon world, but he didn’t know where to go. Someone, or several someones, had worked him over pretty good before he left, but I didn’t ask, and we’ve been together ever since.” Aiden laughed quietly. “It took Ian forever to get used to living in the human world, with humans instead of killing them. Sometimes, I still think he wants to. Of course, so do I, so I don’t judge him too much for it.”
“And you’ve been friends ever since?”
***
“Sort of. We had to learn how to trust one another. After all, Ian had tried to kill me once, and he had no reason to think I wasn’t just bidding my time before I retaliated. It was very tense those first few years, but now? I couldn’t imagine having a better friend. One thing you’ll learn about Ian, he’s loyal to a fault. If you gain his trust and friendship? You’ll have a friend for life.”
“Why did he leave the demon world?”
Aiden shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s the one thing Ian’s never told me. I can tell whatever it was, it still haunts him after all these years, but it’s never been my place to pry. I figure he’ll tell whenever he’s ready, if he decides to at all. Whatever it is, he must think I’d think he was a total monster for it, but I would never turn my back on him after this long. We’ve been through too much,” Aiden sighed, and he could see Mickala was still in pain, and still tired. “Get some rest, Mickala. I promise, I’ll be here when you wake up.” She was asleep as soon as the words left his mouth, and Aiden wasn’t far behind.
It was almost five-thirty when Michelle stuck her head in the room. Both Mickala and Aiden were still asleep, and Ian was sitting on the foot of her bed. He was running a sharpening stone across his sword blade, trying to work out some nicks from the fight with Valez. “Have they woken up any?” she whispered.
“For a little while,” he replied. “They’ve been asleep for a few hours.”
“Good.” She came in and closed the door behind her. “I wanted to thank you for the other night.”
“It’s no problem, Michelle,” he said, his shoulders rising and falling.
“It would’ve been about two hundred years ago, though, huh?” He looked surprised, and she cracked a smile. “Yes, Ian. I know about you. Even a traitor like me has a few contacts left in the demon realm. I know a good deal about you, actually, like how you used to hunt demons like Mickala and myself, and how you met Aiden.”
“I should’ve known you’d do your own investigating,” he said with a laugh. “Yes, I was a traitor hunter, but then I met Aiden, and lost that fight. Later, I realized there was something to this being peaceful. Aiden could have, and probably should have, killed me, but he didn’t. Instead, he risked his own life in keeping me around until I recovered enough to leave on my own. He saved my life in more ways than I could know. If I had killed him, you, Mickala, and Kristopher were next on my list. That’s a fight I’m more than certain now I would’ve lost.” His eyes were down.
Michelle chuckled. “Don’t worry, Ian. Yours wasn’t the first list we’ve been on, and I’m certain it won’t be the last. Besides, you’re not who you used to be. This Ian is the Ian I believe you were meant to be. After all, humans aren’t that much different from us. They just don’t have the special abilities that make being a demon fun.”.
“Oh, I understand that now. It took Aiden decades to get me to see it that way, but I think I mostly have myself under control.”
***
She caught his eyes, and they held only understanding. “I also know something I don’t believe Aiden’s quite aware of, which is why you left the demon realm. I know about Tianna.” Ian seemed to freeze, his ice-blue eyes wary, but she shook her head. “It isn’t my place to judge you, Ian, but I know it wasn’t your fault, how it was a setup.”
Ian sighed, his head lowered. “I had only just discovered I had a sister, but I never imagined she was the head priestess of the village I had been told was full of demon traitors.” He shook his head. “The others in the group knew, but they let me send the orders, anyway. They knew it was just a peaceful fishing village. By the time I realized those I had thought were my family had betrayed me, it was too late to save my actual family.
“Of course, even if I had called them back, they wouldn’t have come. They had been trying to undermine me for decades, and it was the last stroke of their plan. I killed Tianna just as surely as if it had been my own sword to run her through. All I could do was hold my sister in my arms as she drew her last b
reath. Then, they turned on me. I barely escaped, and I went to the one place I could think of, even if it was a risk in itself.”
“Aiden.”
“Only because he didn’t kill me when he had the chance. I knew it wasn’t much to go on, but I didn’t see any other choice. He was the only demon I knew in the human realm. I knew I had to have startled him. After all, it had been over two hundred years. Gods, the patience Aiden showed with me, even to this day, has been legendary. If it had been me? I would’ve given up on me, or killed me first.” His voice was quiet. “I owe him everything and more. I don’t know what would have happened if it wasn’t for him.”
“And he doesn’t know about Tianna?”
He shook his head. “It’s the only thing I’ve never been able to bring myself to tell him.”
Michelle sat next to him on the bed, being careful not to wake the sleeping demons. “He’s been by your side this long, through everything. Surely he would understand. After all, you didn’t know until it was too late.”
Ian shrugged. “Maybe, but I killed my only true family, whether it was my sword that ran her through or not. How do you tell someone, even your best friend who knows every other dark secret, that? I know he’s curious about what caused this sudden, drastic change, but he’s too damn polite to push, and I’m not willing to risk our friendship over it. That friendship is the best thing in my life.
“Over the years, I would go back. I had promised myself I would kill every single one of those betraying bastard. And I did, too. It took me a hundred years, but I did. Every single one of those I had once thought of as family, I killed.” He laughed, but it was full of dark, bitter energy. “That’s when I really realized how Aiden was changing me. The old Ian would’ve killed not only them, but their families first, just so they could see.” His lips twitched up in a smirk. “That demon right there has worked miracles with me.”
Releasing the Demons: Solarian Chronicles II Page 5
