The Healer's Kiss: Book Four of the Forced To Serve Series

by Donna McDonald

  “Being powered by a demon is not the same as being alive,” Ji said firmly.

  Hearing the frustration in his own voice, Ji took a couple deep, calming breaths, telling himself the doctor was sharing all he knew. He refused to accept that housing a demon was to be Seta Trax’s fate. Death or demon possession? Never. Both were unacceptable.

  “There has to be something we can do for her,” Ji insisted.

  Boca walked into medical and around the emotional Siren. She was quite proud of herself for not chastising Chiang for his lack of sympathy. Anyone with eyes could see Ji Warro was Seta Trax’s natural mate, but Chiang seemed oblivious to it. She looked calmly into Chiang’s questioning gaze, waiting for the questions she saw there to be given voice.

  “You disappeared when we returned,” Chiang declared, unable to stop himself.

  “I went to my quarters. I needed a cleansing and some time alone to think about things,” Boca said calmly, though she did not feel calm.

  And time alone had not helped.

  “Kefira’s body is now free of the wires. Malachi volunteered to stay with her until she wakes from the sedative. I don’t think he can handle working on the Trax siblings. May I examine Seta’s body again?”

  In answer, Chiang held out a hand to the medical table where the body with the Demon Zorinda in it lay. Oddly, the existence of another demon didn’t even faze him. The energy signature was not nearly as strong as Malachi’s.

  Boca walked to the bed, nodded to the entity calmly watching her, and then spoke the words that had popped into her mind while she was dressing.

  “You will not be allowed to keep this body if you don’t work to save the spirit within it. If Seta Trax completely dies, they will take you out and move you into the amulet. Rena Trax has been bargaining for that eventuality since coming on board the Liberator,” Boca stated. “It is imperative that you save your host.”

  “Who are you to command me?” Zorinda asked.

  “I am no one. And this is not a command. It just an explanation of what will be your fate if Seta Trax does not continue to live,” Boca stated. “Tell us the effects of the poison on the body.”

  When Zorinda turned away, Boca turned to Chiang. “May I?” she asked, pointing to his wrist com.

  Chiang lifted his arm to her mouth and held the button.

  “Contact Captain Synar,” Boca ordered.

  A few moments later, Synar came on. “Synar here.”

  “Captain, this is Ensign Ador. Please inform Zorinda about what Rena Trax wanted from you.”

  “Who is present to hear this besides you?” Synar asked.

  “Captain Warro, Zorinda, and Chiang,” Boca replied. “The room is secure from those who don’t know what’s going on.”

  “The emissary was seeking the amulet I took from Ania’s captors on Terris Rein. She said it was meant for Zorinda,” Synar said.

  “Thank you, Captain. I believe Zorinda is convinced now,” Boca said, seeing Zorinda turn to face her again.

  “I’ll be in conference with Lieutenant Zade and Ania for a bit. Synar out.”

  Chiang lowered his wrist as Boca turned back to the bed. She raised her palms over Seta’s body.

  “No—stop,” Zorinda said, not wanting the energy of the Creators so close to her again. “She. . .what my host ingested was a compound that affects the mind. It is causing a state of permanent unconsciousness, like sleep, but much deeper. There appears to be no reversal. I do not know if its effects will wear off naturally or not.”

  Boca reached out one hand. “I must touch you to determine if you speak the truth. I will not change anything without telling you.”

  She put one hand in the middle of Seta Trax’s chest. Her palm burned. And then she saw what Zorinda told them was the truth. With her new skills though, Boca also saw that it was temporary. The length of the sleep was just unknown.

  “She speaks the truth as she understands it,” Boca recited, stepping away.

  Chiang reached out a hand. “What happened to your hands on Lotharius? You have a new energy within you.”

  “Yes. Unfortunately,” Boca admitted, walking around Chiang to be nearer to Warro. She looked up to meet the Siren’s worried gaze. “Seta Trax will return, but I do not know when. With a custom developed drug, one can never be sure of outcomes. However, my instinct is that the Demon Zorinda can make Seta’s return happen faster if she chooses.”

  Warro nodded, his throat suddenly tight with relief. “Thank you, Ensign. At least that is some good news.”

  Boca bowed her head to him and walked out of medical to check on Kefira. And to give Malachi the news. She hoped that knowing it would prompt him to have a demon-to-demon chat with Zorinda. She had no doubt Malachi could persuade Zorinda to be more helpful.

  She wasn’t sure what it meant for Rena Trax.

  Emissaries were unpredictable, as she had learned painfully.

  ***

  Synar met Ania at the foot of the landing ramp shortly after the Dread Nought’s shuttle docked. “Where’s Dorian?”

  “Coming on the next shuttle,” Ania said, reaching out to put her hands on Liam’s arms. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so concerned.”

  “I could order him to do it, but. . . “ Synar paused at his mate’s understanding nod. “He is defeated. I have seen Malachi be many things, but never emotionally depleted.”

  “We must assume he is more connected to Conor’s body than we suspected. How would a normal Norblade male react when grieving such a loss?” Ania asked as they moved towards the elevator.

  “The same,” Synar admitted. “Though I can’t even imagine how I would bear your death as well as Malachi seems to be handling the emissary’s.”

  “You would force yourself to recover because you have the ship and its crew to care for even in my absence,” Ania said firmly. “All Malachi has is the sacred contract. He is forced to serve it out, but that is not a whole life, Liam. I don’t understand what connection he had to the emissary, but I never doubted it was a powerful one.”

  “Malachi isn’t the only problem. Chiang is trying to determine what kind of poison they all ingested. Conor’s body seems unaffected, so it’s likely only the females were given it. Warro has taken up residence in Medical to make sure Zorinda does nothing obscene to Seta Trax’s body. I did talk him into drinking another round of Siren ale to calm himself down.”

  Synar ran a hand through his hair.

  “Raging fires of Helios, I need Dorian back here too. I can’t order Warro to leave completely. He’s been a captain longer than I have. If he reacts to another Siren poorly, at least his slugging Dorian will give me a blasted reason to eject him from my ship.”

  Ania laughed. She couldn’t help it. Her stoic mate was frazzled. For some reason, it pleased her to see him that way. “I’m sorry you are having so many difficulties. I will help any way I can.”

  The elevator doors closed, sealing them in privately for a few precious moments.

  “Kiss me then,” Synar ordered. “Distract me for a few moments so I may again know peace.”

  Ania laughed but walked into her mate’s welcoming arms. She lifted her mouth for a kiss, unsurprised to find herself swept up against an already vibrating male. His tongue in her mouth spoke volumes about his neediness.

  She ran hands over his hair, grabbing two handfuls to hold him to her. When the vibration hit, he groaned in response. Ania made sure she echoed it back to him until there was nothing left.

  Calmer now, Synar let her feet slide down to solid surface again, looking beyond them to the audience of Jurek’s ensigns standing outside the elevator with politely averted eyes.

  “Ensigns,” Synar said in acknowledgement, hearing Ania snicker beside him.

  “Greetings, Captain,” Ensign Karr said, fighting hard for his lips not to twitch. Laughter would have to come later. His gaze slid to Peace Keeper Looren, favoring her with an interested sweeping glance. The Pleiadian woman had an awfully nice moan w
hen being pleasured. His opinion of Captain Synar rose several notches when the Norblade male dragged his laughing mate out of the elevator and down the hallway with him.

  “We need more females on this ship,” one of the ensigns he sparred with complained, watching Captain Synar walking away with his mate.

  “Indeed,” Ensign Karr said, rubbing his chin as the three of them entered the elevator. “That is a profound truth, as Lieutenant Zade would say.”

  The males all laughed at his joke. Their resident Siren counselor was bit stuffy at times, but no one would have dared to act amused in his presence. Or Commander Jet’s for that matter. She didn’t tolerate disrespect of any sort, but she was especially intolerant of anything said about Lieutenant Zade.

  “Didn’t Peace Keeper Looren used to be fair-haired and slender?” one asked. “I always liked fair-haired and slender females best.”

  Karr laughed and snorted. “Obviously you haven’t known many females if you are surprised by a radical change in one’s appearance.”

  “Yes, well at least I’m not in mating heat for Ensign Ador,” he said in rebuttal.

  Karr sighed. It was true. He favored the Sumerian. But no way in Kellnor was he challenging the Doctor for her. The giant Greggor would literally break him in half.

  “We do need more females on this ship,” Karr declared, frowning.

  The other two laughed and nodded as they headed out into the docking bay to their posts.

  Chapter 24

  Kefira woke thanking the Creators for her continued life and to find a demon guarding her. In some circumstances, that fact would have caused her great alarm. His approving smile swept all the concern away, and then she recognized his energy. It made her smile even more.

  “Good to see you survived your ordeal,” Malachi said softly, standing up. “What assistance do you require?”

  “The pain is mostly gone,” Kefira said.

  Malachi bowed his head. “Also good to hear. We kept you sedated while we removed the wires. It seemed you had suffered enough.”

  “I am grateful. Where is the female who rescued me?”

  “Boca? Ensign Ador is helping the doctor work on some wounded crew members,” Malachi said, frowning as he searched for the com chart. He needed to log her vital signs now that she was awake.

  “Yes, the doctor—I remember him as well. He helped break me out and then carried me to safety,” Kefira reported.

  “Yes, that’s right. Looks like your memories are intact,” Malachi said dryly, coding information into the unit.

  “Your name is Malachi. You’re a servant of the Creators,” Kefira announced. “Yes. I see it all very clearly now.”

  Malachi laughed harshly. “It is a truth. I am forced to serve them.”

  “Forced? That seems a very harsh term for such a great privilege,” Kefira said kindly.

  “It seems like an appropriate term to me,” Malachi said.

  “I wish to ask you for something, Malachi,” Kefira announced.

  “You can ask. However, I don’t assist in waste evacuation. I’ll get one of the junior medics to help you.”

  Kefira laughed. “None of that help is needed, but thank you. You are very amusing.”

  “I doubt many find me so,” Malachi answered, his tone dry. “What is your question? Ask quickly. I need to fetch the doctor to check you.”

  “I wish you to come inside me and remove my memories of being wired. They are blocking the use of my other abilities,” Kefira said.

  Malachi laid the com unit on the medical table at her feet. “You did say you knew I was a demon, right?”

  Kefira nodded.

  “Then you should know that once I’m given access to an entity, I can read their thoughts and intentions also? This is not something I can choose or not choose to do. It is simply how a demon functions. Our energies would unite.”

  “I understand,” Kefira said. “This is a necessary measure for me.”

  Malachi thought about it for a few moments, wondering if he should discuss the request with Ania and Liam first. After all, this was the high ambassador’s daughter, not the average ambassador they were used to saving.

  And she had a very unusual energy signature herself.

  “Please let this request remain between us. None will know of your aide to me, and neither of your masters would mind if they knew it was at my request. I can repay your service to me with service to your crew. It is the least I can do after all of you helped preserve my unbreached state.”

  “You may not feel unbreached after I’ve been inside you as demon mist. I carry the energy of others I have collected over time. While I can shield you from the worst of it, a little evil always leaks through. Each entity retains what I unavoidably end up leaving behind,” Malachi warned.

  “May the Creators will be done,” Kefira said quietly.

  “You’re even more fanatical about them than Zade,” Malachi declared. “Very well. I am inclined to do your bidding. Prepare yourself.”

  Kefira closed her eyes, feeling a sudden cold sensation as the demon came into her. Then her spirit lightened. The trauma of what the Lotharians had done to her suddenly didn’t seem to matter as much. She opened her eyes in time to see a black mist sparkling with gold enter the host body waiting patiently for its return. The change in his mist form made her smile.

  The male beside her—whole once more—blinked and then laughed at her intense perusal.

  “I couldn’t exactly remove the bad memories. Hard to explain if you don’t understand energy dynamics, but let’s just say it had torn several areas of your spirit. To remove the memories would have caused further damage, so I put an energy block—a form of binding—on the memories to cover them from your consciousness. You should be free of the worst of the emotional pain until some similar trauma takes place again. Hopefully, you will remain safe in this incarnation, and die without reliving your experience in any way at all,” Malachi said, reaching out and patting her arm.

  “Thank you so much,” Kefira said sincerely. “I can feel my light returning.”

  Malachi grinned. She was charming, and so bloody innocent that it hurt him to think about anything happening to dim that kind of goodness. He was to a point of admitting that his opinion of females was forever altered, but it was uncommon for him to feel such a wave of protectiveness. The last time he felt such a need to watch over a being was with Ania.

  “So tell me, Kefira—does the Creators’ light hurt when it returns to you? I’ve never had that happen before.”

  Giggling, Kefira reached out a hand. “It is good to laugh. Help me off the table. I want to try walking now.”

  “It’s a little soon to be getting up. Let me get Chiang and Boca first. . .” Malachi drifted off in his lecture as his patient swung her legs over the side of the medical table and slid to her feet. She wiggled her incredibly attractive legs beneath the long, ugly yellow medical tunic before walking around the room.

  “Almost like new again,” Kefira said, happy that she managed it on her own. “Now let’s go to Medical. I think I can help your wounded crew members, or at least one of them.”

  Hope rose inside him swiftly, only to be dashed by Kefira’s sympathetic gaze. Reaching out a hand, she rubbed his arm gently. It was all he could do not to push her violently away, but she didn’t deserve that kind of harshness merely for caring.

  “I am sincerely sorry. I cannot influence the emissary’s destiny. I can only bring the Lieutenant back,” Kefira said gently.

  Malachi nodded. “I guess that’s what everyone wants anyway.”

  “Everyone but you,” Kefira stated. “You want the emissary to return.”

  “So you’re a mind-reader? I’m not really surprised, but now I’m doubly glad you weren’t stuck reading Orem Sel’s. He’s one of the coldest, most twisted males I’ve had the misfortune to be inside.”

  “You joke to avoid my question, but I see the truth,” Kefira said.

  “If you are with us
long,” Malachi said flatly, offering her his arm for support as she walked, “you will soon learn that no one on this ship cares what I want. I am merely the Demon of Synar.”

  “Everything changes. Have you not learned that in your long life, Demon of Synar?”

  “Stick around,” Malachi advised. “The beings on this ship will beat that positive Klageldon dung out of you in no time.”

  Kefira laughed at Malachi’s protestations and tightened her hold on his arm. “Praise the Creators for sending such delightful beings to rescue me.”

  Malachi shook his head and sighed at the naïve young female’s knowing smile.

  ***

  After finally convincing Ji Warro to leave long enough to seek food, Boca and Chiang both sighed with frustration when Kefira walked slowly into Medical on Malachi’s arm.

  “I tried to stop her, but short of using forbidden physical restraint, there was nothing I could do but make sure she didn’t fall on the way over,” Malachi said, defending his actions.

  Kefira smiled. “He speaks true. I have come to help heal those who risked their lives to save mine.”

  Boca walked over to Kefira, taking her other arm in hand for additional balance.

  “Your touch carries the gift of vindecarea incendiu. It is from the home planet of your mate,” Kefira informed her with a smile. “What a wonderful reward for your service to the Creators.”

  “I suppose that is one way to look at it,” Boca said, frowning at the other gift from that planet that she hadn’t really wanted to receive. That gift was currently glaring at her with a hurtful expression because she had yet to tell him what had happened. “Sometimes it is hard to tell a curse from a blessing.”

  Kefira laughed. “Indeed, I see you struggle with that concerning the doctor’s compassion for you.”

  Hearing Malachi laugh, Boca swung a glare in his direction. “I am not the only one cursed.”

  “Demon,” Malachi said succinctly, pointing to his chest. “And I don’t care what anyone thinks.”