They hurried from the room without asking any questions or even looking behind them as they fled.
Ania watched them go and then looked back at the males. “Are they worth your lives?”
“Take them,” one male said, his voice threatening despite his conciliatory words. “We have no wish to die.”
“Wise choice,” Ania said. It took her and Dorian several minutes to restrain the men to make sure they wouldn’t be followed in their search for Gwen and the ambassador.
“This way,” Boca said firmly when the last male was unconscious.
Ania watched as Boca lifted her chin. She carried the gruesome hand of her mate at her side as she walked in front of them.
“The ambassador is in a holding cell waiting to be collected. Fener Sel sold her to a neighboring group for a large sum of money. We have been checking on her because we were ordered to keep her calm. She seems frightened, but alive,” Boca said.
“And where is Commander Jet?” Ania asked, feeling Dorian grow more anxious as they walked.
“We’re going there first. She is in medical being wired,” Boca said, frowning. “I know this because we are not sedated while the process is done. They push wires through your body along which they can send electrical pain. Control pads are installed in the hands of your chosen owner. Curling their fingers presses the pads and sends the signal. I do not know how long the range is because we are never allowed to be more than one residence apart from the one who controls us. My guess—my hope is that we will be unaffected on your ship.”
“When we find her, I’m going back to kill him,” Dorian said, shortening his steps to follow Boca across the compound, even though he was angry enough to kill everyone he saw.
Chapter 16
“When I get free,” Gwen told the man who was sending electrical current through her legs. “I’m going to cut you into a million pieces.”
“Yes, yes. So you’ve told me over and over again. When I get your arms wired,” the doctor told Gwen, smiling at her outrage, “you will wrap them around me and hold me while I avail myself of the charms of your young body. It is my special price to Fener Sel for working through the sleep cycle to prepare you. Your legs are almost complete. They are the most challenging. The arms take no time at all.”
“I swear I’ll still kick you to death no matter how much it hurts me,” Gwen said viciously, grimacing as he dialed up the current and made her legs shake. “You have no idea how resistant I am to be controlled, you self-righteous piece of Klageldon dung.”
“I can vouch for how resistant you are,” Dorian said, coming in and deflecting the attempts to stop him by flicking the men in lab coats away like they weren’t even there. “And I have never been more thankful about anything. I’m sorry it took us so long to get here.”
The sight of Gwen naked and strapped to an upright table with wires protruding from her thighs was enough to bring on a killing madness. It was only the words from her acid tongue that stopped him. If she was being this disrespectful, it meant she was mostly okay. Killing everyone in the room might make him feel better, but it wouldn’t help her.
Dorian lifted the doctor from the console chair and held him in the air. “Is there any reason we need this one alive?”
“Yes—the sick bastard needs to tell medical how to get these blasted things out of me without destroying my legs. It’s taken him hours to put them in me,” Gwen said tiredly.
Boca and Ania rushed over and began working to unfasten the straps that held her. “Wait—,” Gwen said. “I can’t feel my legs right now. He said I wouldn’t be able to walk. Zade, put the doctor down and catch me.”
Dorian shoved the nervous male into the chair again, spoke and hit him between the eyes, watching the doctor’s shock as he realized he couldn’t move.
He walked to Gwen then and braced her body with his, feeling her arms come around his neck when they were free. That’s when Dorian realized he wasn’t feeling anything else. His energy was gone from her.
“What have they done?” Dorian asked, his voice quivering with emotion. “How is this possible? I don’t feel you.”
Gwen knew what he meant but was unable to comfort him when they needed to rescue the ambassador and get out of the place before the group came to collect the ambassador.
“They called it a ‘mate cleansing.’ It was the first thing they did to me. I’ve got to say, Zade, it took them a long damn time to extract it all,” Gwen said, closing her eyes at the pain in her legs. She’d have to think about the rest of it later. It had been worse than the wires and she had wept the whole time.
“Gwen,” Dorian whispered roughly, catching her carefully to avoid the protruding wires when the ankle restraints were removed. “My body grieves its loss of you.”
“Zade—we can’t talk about this now. We have to save Ambassador Onin so she can tell the Peace Alliance about this situation. They’ve sold her to some controlling bastard who’s supposed to come get her today,” she said, feeling him sweep her naked form gently up in his arms. “I think all the females here are being controlled by the same kind of devices they were putting in me. I don’t know exactly how they work.”
“Fener Sel has been dealt with. We freed the females in the main building. They’re waiting at the shuttle. The fate of the rest we will have to turn over to the Peace Alliance,” Ania said. “This is Boca Ador. She has told us all females on this planet are hostages. They did a good job keeping that secret from the Peace Alliance.”
“You got Fener Sel already? Good. Saves me the trouble,” Gwen said. “If my legs didn’t hurt like hell, I’d kick the damn doctor until he was dead.”
“Hell?” Boca repeated, looking at Ania.
“Earth term—a form of swearing,” Ania answered absently.
She looked at Zade, who was just standing there holding a still-naked Gwen who was going into shock. “Can we move on to finding the ambassador?”
Dorian turned to leave, but stopped in front of the doctor. “How can these be safely removed?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been asked to remove them,” the doctor said quietly, looking up into the giant male’s eyes and seeing his death. He hoped the truth would bring mercy. “She will walk once her body adjusts to their presence. The technique was taught to us by slave traders. Rarely does a female suffer long. You have my word that your female is not permanently harmed.”
“Are you saying you are not useful to us anymore?” Ania asked, coming to stand in front of the now quivering false healer.
“Do not touch me. Your energy is dark—like a demon’s,” the doctor said fearfully, trying to pull back from her.
“Your intuition serves you well in this case. Too bad it didn’t help you not to put your energy into helping enslave females. Is there anything else you can tell us?” Ania asked.
Boca spoke up as she stooped to retrieve her controller’s severed hand from where she’d dropped it. “What is the range of the power to control?”
“Right,” Ania said. “Tell us the range.”
He quoted a measurement that did not extend far.
“So the females at the shuttle are not in danger and neither is the ambassador,” Ania said. “Dorian, take Gwen to the shuttle and load the rescued females. Let Synar know what’s going on. Boca and I will rescue the ambassador.”
Dorian nodded. “I wish to kill the doctor.”
“There is no time,” Ania said gently. “You have to see to Gwen. Malachi and I will see to it that this is never done to another female in this lab.”
“What are you planning to do?” Gwen asked, her head rolling on Zade’s arm. Now that the current wasn’t jolting her awake every few seconds, exhaustion was setting in.
“Rest, Commander,” Ania said. “We will soon be gone from this place and you’ll need that sass for dealing with the medical team on the Liberator.”
“Just remember who’s the damn first mate,” Gwen said, rolling her head back and resting it against Dor
ian’s chest.
“If we forget, I’m sure you’ll remind us,” Dorian said, forcing himself to walk away from the male who had harmed her. “Ania, could you send Malachi along to protect us. I don’t want to put Gwen down to fight.”
It would be my pleasure, Malachi sent. I’m quite enamored of the young commander.
Ania snorted, not surprised. When they are safely boarded, return here and destroy the building. Spare none that remain inside this wretched place. Then go back to Fener Sel and finish him. Afterwards, cut off the controlling hands of all the remaining males, but leave them alive as a warning.
Malachi quivered in delight at her orders. Did I once bemoan being put into a female as a host? Forgive me, Ania Looren. You are as bloodthirsty as any male and more creative. All you command will be done.
Outside the facility, Malachi left her, travelling around Dorian and Gwen like a cloud. Ania suspected that none they passed would even see them.
“You going to keep carrying that bloody stump around even though now you know it keeps you in range,” Ania said, looking at Boca.
Boca smiled, but it wasn’t the pleasant smile of a happy female. Ania thought it made her look like a predator.
“I’m going to keep it until we get to your ship. Your medical team might need it to understand how to help future females who are rescued—or even your commander.”
“Good thinking,” Ania said, nodding. “What kind of work did you do before you were captured?”
“I was a healer,” Boca answered. “Now I am broken myself and of no use to anyone.”
“I carry a demon and survive,” Ania said firmly. “Broken is just a perspective.”
“Will your demon return in time to help defeat the guards in the holding area?” Boca asked.
Ania smiled, narrowing her eyes. “I won’t need his help for that.”
Boca nodded, believing Ania’s flashing eyes that glowed softly red now. She remembered the female subduing the armed guards with ease. “The holding area is this way then. Unfortunately, it is next to the main building that we left. Are the males still restrained there?”
“Unless they know the ancient tongue of the Pleiadians, they are still bound where we left them,” Ania said, secure that it was so.
As they walked into the building Boca indicated, they heard screams from next door.
Boca looked at Ania fearfully. “The demon?”
“Yes, but do not fear Malachi. He will do you no harm,” Ania said, noticing there were no guards.
Hearing more screams as well as males running into and out of the building, Ania knew they were quickly running out of time. She walked to a holding cell where a beautifully dressed female sat on a bunk smaller than the one in Synar’s room.
“Ambassador Onin?” she asked.
The female pulled herself upright and lifted her chin. “Yes. You might as well kill me now because I will never stop fighting. When the Peace Alliance hears of your deceit, your actions will be punished. Your behavior constitutes an act of war.”
Ania spoke some words over the lock, but it didn’t open. “Shade of Kellnor. . .must be metal from Ceruse. It resists curses. Stand back.”
“What are you doing?” Ambassador Onin asked, moving against the wall of her cell when she saw the dark female draw a weapon from her belt.
“Rescuing you,” Ania said calmly, blasting the lock until it clicked.
Need an escort to the shuttle? Your ambassador seems to be having some trouble walking. By the way, that last command was highly enjoyable. I never knew being honorable and helping could be so fulfilling. Even Bogdan wasn’t quite as clever as you.
Cover us as you did Dorian and Gwen, Ania sent, unwilling to think of what had occurred next door. It might start the males on this planet on a different path, but it was also extreme.
“Will your legs support you well enough to walk?” Ania asked, kicking open the door, and holding out a hand to the frightened female.
“I’ll crawl if it gets me off this planet,” Ambassador Onin said firmly.
Ania nodded but held onto the female’s hand as they left, just in case. Boca let them lead, easily keeping up as they made their way to the shuttle.
Once there, Ania sent Boca and Ambassador Onin to board ahead of her. She stood outside the ship until Malachi was completely inside her again to avoid alarming the traumatized females any further. Then she climbed the boarding ramp herself.
“Gwen has gone into shock. Two are caring for her, but we need to return immediately,” Dorian said, looking grim.
“Let’s go. We are done anyway. Malachi killed the doctor and Fener Sel,” she said.
“Then I agree we are done here,” Dorian concurred, lifting off and heading back to the Liberator as fast as he could.
Chapter 17
“Dorian, stop sulking. You remind me of your Greggor father when you act this way. It wasn’t like your Commander Jet had a choice in the matter. She was tortured and they removed your energy from her against her will,” Sarinnea said, feeling great compassion for her only child.
“What they did was an abomination, akin to rape on Earth. But how can I speak against it to her and offer comfort? I acted no better than the males that captured her. This is my punishment for forcing my claim on Gwen in the first place. I should have wooed her first like everyone said, won her over to being my mate,” Dorian said, continuing to clean every part of his weapon until each piece gleamed.
“Well, now you can do it better. Just start over. You’re a Siren. You’re irresistible,” Sarinnea said easily. “Commander Jet obviously cares for you. You don’t need to share energy for anyone with eyes to see she favors you.”
“Then I’m blind, Sarinnea. I’m half Siren and half blind fool,” Dorian said harshly. “All vibrations for Gwen have stopped. It’s—it’s as if we are strangers when we are together. They took it all—even what I did not know I had. From the first moment we met, she must have given me something of herself, something that flickered like a flame even through those two wasted years I spent denying her. She came to me first. She was following her intuition. Raging fires of Helios, it was probably the one and only time I’ve ever seen her use it. Yet I sent her away even when I knew, Sarinnea. I sent her away.”
Sarinnea reached out and wrenched the weapon parts that could not possibly be made any cleaner from her child’s hands.
“Vile things these are, Dorian,” Sarinnea said, slapping the parts down on a nearby counter. “Now hear me—you are six hundred twenty-three years old. Do not talk of great love for a female while holding weapons of great destruction in your hands, not even if she is a warrior. It is unnatural. You took vows and you honored them. Commander Jet had her needs met well while you waited for the right time for you. You did not fail her. You merely refused her. This is not the terrible wrong you are making it out to be.”
“How do you know how she met her needs? Sarinnea—you didn’t,” Dorian said, appalled.
“Dorian, he was delightful and fun. And it was the Greggor who asked me, not the other way around. I was very careful. Plus Chiang strikes me as being very discreet,” Sarinnea said, unashamed of seeking to have her needs met or of meeting anyone else’s. She had never apologized for it before and had no intentions of doing so now.
“I didn’t get terribly physical. I knew you wouldn’t approve of me serving your fellow crew members, though I hardly see what my private actions have to do with your reputation. Besides, I like Greggors. I always have—you know this,” Sarinnea reminded him.
Dorian sighed and paced away. He picked up a fighting stick and twirled it in his hands. He wasn’t offended that Chiang had now had bonding experiences with both Gwen and his parent. No. He just wanted to kill the Greggor and rid the Liberator of him so he could never bond with another female that Dorian cared about.
He swung the stick fiercely and returned it abruptly to its storage hanger. Wanting to kill someone was not appropriate behavior for the Liberator’s s
piritual counselor, even though it made perfect sense to Dorian at the moment. Cutting off Fener Sel’s hands hadn’t made him feel better either. He should have gone for his bonding parts.
“Stop screaming at me with your emotions, Dorian. Chiang no longer sees your mate as an option for bonding, but he will always care for her and be her friend. Do not be jealous. That is neither in your Siren blood nor your Greggor blood. You must have gotten that nasty trait from those other two full humans you mated. Your Commander Jet is not like them—and thank the creators of all for that,” Sarinnea said fiercely. “Don’t get me wrong—I liked the others. But they were not like this one. Gwen is special.”
“No, Gwen is not like the others,” Dorian replied, anger in his voice and his stance, but he couldn’t seem to change it. “I never felt this way about my other mates, never feared that I could be replaced in their affections, never worried that I might never know what it is to belong to . . . Shades of Kellnor. I no longer even feel her within me, and yet she still owns most of my thoughts.”
“My dear one,” Sarinnea said, walking up to him and putting gentle hands on his arms. “As much as you might not want to know it, I believe disrupting your peace is Gwen Jet’s exact purpose in your life. You have known peace for too long. Now you will have a couple centuries with a creature who will make you grow as a person. It is a blessing for you even if it does not currently feel like one. Chel’sa locum an’le desa.”
Dorian made himself focus on her words. ‘Accept and show great compassion,’ Sarinnea had advised. Even without the energy of the Siren’s call owning him, serving the needs of Gwen Jet ruled his actions. Dorian didn’t think he really had any other choice.
He put his arms around the female who had given him life and consistent love throughout all the centuries of his existence. “You are still my role model for all things female, but it would be nice to hear advice from another male about mating things. I wish my father had lived longer.”
The Demon Master's Wife (Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) Page 15
