"You're out of breath and you're sweating. Are those scratches on your shoulders?" Jaylen asked, trying to look over Xair's shoulder into the room.
"Yes. What do you need?"
"What are you doing in there?"
Xair sighed impatiently. "I'm with my wife, Jaylen."
"Doing what?"
"What do you think?" Xair snapped at him. "We are having some private time."
"Oh. Oh, that. I'm so sorry. We heard some crashing and . . . I'm sorry. Have a good night."
Xair closed the door then tightened his hands into fists. "Where were we?"
The slender blond demon with the bright orange robes and pale flawless skin held up his silver tin whistle. "You were about to bleed to death."
"Right. And how exactly were you going to do that, Krivel? It didn't work the first two times. What makes you think you're strong enough to do it right this time? You're pathetic. I am your Ata-Lin. This truly is laughable, you know? It's absurd. You know how strong I am."
"Really?" The demon flashed a bright smile with his hands on his hips. "Do I? Because it looks like I'm dominating you. Your shoulder's bleeding a bit there, Ata-Lin. Besides, don't you know that I never fail?"
"Do not make me show you the face of death." Xair summoned his twisted wooden staff once again, sending a gust of wind around the room. Papers and books flew against the walls as he lunged at the demon. A dark fog descended on them and blocked out the light from the mage-glow.
Kato tried to remain as silent as she could from the closet where she had been hiding. Hiding might not have been the correct word. It was more like spying. But in her defense, she had only come into his room in order to give him the bracelet when he stormed in with that demon following him and they started fighting. It was all she could do to find a place to hide before the room got torn apart.
Seemingly unaffected by the increase of magic, Krivel placed his silver tin whistle up to his lips.
The high-pitched notes sliced through the air and sent Xair to the floor, clutching his hands over his ears. Thin streams of blood trickled from between his fingers then down his forearms like macabre tree branches. "Stop it! By order of your Ata-Lin, stop! Krivel!"
Krivel obliged his Master's pleading cries, but only to move closer and mock him. "Well, well, well. The mighty Xair Korvin brought low, begging on his knees to a demon. How the mighty have fallen. It's deliciously poetic, don't you think? You know what your problem is, Ka'taylin? Too much hubris. You became far too prideful for your own good. How does that Ka'taylin saying go? A handful of humility can buy the world, but a pinch of pride can destroy it."
"Do not quote my people."
"Your people? You mean the dead ones?"
Xair hung his head. His shoulders drooped, defeated. "Kill me. That's what you're here for. Why drag it out? If you think you have the strength to finish me off, then do it. I'm not going to fight you for it."
"Oh, no, Ata-Lin. I didn't come here to kill you . . . not yet. After all, what good would it do me to kill you and not know the location of your soul? That simply will not do, will it? So here's what we're going to do. You are going to relinquish your leash over me and release me from your control. In return, I will stop chasing that Kiki girl you're so fond of. What do you say?"
Xair looked up at the demon. "I'll do it. Spare Kiki."
"You have my honor as a demon." Krivel helped Xair to his feet, only to gasp and stumble backwards with a stunned look of pain etched on his face. "You!"
Xair slung the purple demon's blood from his glass dagger then pointed it back at him. "Run, Krivel. Run back to Hell and tell your accomplices that I will slaughter each and every one of you if you ever try to cross me again."
"Your dagger . . . you cut me. How? How did you . . . Hell's flames! It burns."
"It won't heal, no matter what you do to it. Did you truly think that I would ever start leashing demons without a way to keep them in line? Run away, Krivel. Run before I finish the job."
Once Krivel was gone and Xair had replaced his dagger on his belt, Kato ever so slowly pushed the closet door open. It creaked a bit, causing her to hold her breath. Xair was still filled with adrenaline and might mistake her for another demon. "Xair, it's me. Don't hurt me."
Xair pulled the closet door the rest of the way open and shook his head in disbelief. "Kato?"
She blushed a bit, seeing him undressed and sweating as he was. There was something primal and intensely attractive about his harshness and exotic looks. "Sorry, Xair. I came to talk to you, but then you came in and you looked so angry, so I hid in your closet."
Xair shook his head as he tightened his belt that had come undone and found his purple robe on the floor. As he fixed his pants, he paced around the mess he had created. "So you saw all of that?"
"Yes. I thought your leashed demons couldn't hurt you."
"There's nothing stopping them from trying. I don't know . . ." Xair wiped the blood from his nose. "Can you keep a secret?"
"From who?"
"Everyone else. They can't know."
"Even Jaylen?" Kato asked.
"Especially Jaylen."
"Sure."
Xair grunted as he tied his injured shoulder with a crude bandage. "I am in big trouble. My demons are rising up against me. I'm able to keep them in control for now, but the longer . . . this . . . goes on, the more powerful they get."
"The longer what goes on? Xair, you can tell me anything."
"I know why I'm human again. The demons are angry with me. They forced me out of my raven form so they could have their revenge."
"They can do that?" Kato asked.
"Under normal circumstances? No. Have you heard of a little boy named Sammy from Wolfekin? Maybe Jaylen or Zeriel mentioned him in passing?"
"Maybe? I'm not sure. It would have been a while ago if they did. Why? What does this Sammy boy have to do with this?"
Was he truly going to tell her one of his many secrets? "He's my . . . oh Arcanas, help me."
"What?"
"He's where I store my soul."
"Where you store your soul?" Kato asked, growing more confused.
"Yes. I did some very questionable and stupid things many years ago that allowed me to harness a significant increase in power, but it also put my soul at risk for corruption. So, I found a pregnant woman and had one of my closest demons possess the baby. The demon took the boy's soul and replaced it with mine. But now Sulstair and Axaniel have the boy and are corrupting him at an alarming rate. I'm sure the demonic energies that surround my soul are what drew Zeriel to the baby years ago. He bought the boy and cared for him before he was taken by Axaniel and Eternal Eclipse. No one knows the boy holds my soul."
"Then we'll get Sammy from them."
"It's not that simple." Xair tied off the bandage with his teeth. "Carvael is honing Sammy to be a weapon. They are using my soul as a weapon against me, against all of us. The more time that goes by, the less control I have over my demons and my magic. I've been feeling the consequences of it for some time, but it has gotten worse recently. That's why Krivel was able to stand up to me like he did."
"What happens from here?"
"If I don't do something soon, then I could lose complete control over my demons. They will kill me and everyone around me. That also would mean that I cannot bring the sun back."
"Are you finally going to tell us what you did to the sun?" Kato asked. "Jaylen claims it was there over Cilona when he was a slave, but that you made it vanish out of the sky."
"It was there. But I wasn't the one who made it vanish. I take credit for it, because I must be held responsible for the actions of my demons."
"One of your demons did it? How did a common demon make the sun disappear?"
Xair pulled his purple silk robe back on and tied his messy white hair behind his shoulders. "I have been losing control for a long time, Kato. Most Ka'taylins stop leashing demons after they have between ten and twenty."
"I can see t
hat you have many more than that, Xair."
"Yes. I became . . . addicted to it. I needed more and more power. Our recorded history lists one Ka'taylin as having the most demons of anyone ever. He was an early sultan of Ka'tayl whose family was possessed in the middle of the night, so he went on a rampage. He summoned and leashed ninety-two demons in one night, bringing his total to one hundred and six. He then lost his mind and killed the family he had been trying to protect. It is common knowledge in Ka'tayl that no man can hold more than one hundred and six demons."
"I'm going to regret asking this, but . . . how many demons do you command, Xair?" Kato asked.
"Including the ones who have stopped responding to my summons? Four hundred and ninety-nine."
"Five hundred demons?"
"Yes. Gavin was five hundred exactly."
Her eyes traced over the numerous runes on his visible skin. "How does that work, then? How do you have so many demons leashed to you?"
"I absorbed them in place of my soul."
Kato let out a long sigh as she watched her friend who was still very much a stranger in many ways. "That's why you had to place your soul inside Sammy?"
"You catch on quickly. I have acquired two hundred demons in the past five years. I destroyed their bodies so they couldn't fight against me. But now they're fighting from the inside and Krivel is leading them. Sure, he has a body, but he feeds on the angst and anger of the ones that don't. They want mine and anyone else's around me. I'm a bomb just waiting to explode. I've done so much to keep it under control, but it is becoming all too clear that my actions have been for naught."
Kato stepped up to him and placed her hand on his arm. "You have my full support to do whatever you need to do in order to get this under control. What do you need?"
"I need your permission to leave for awhile. I need to go back to Ka'tayl and speak with the Arcanas."
"You don't need my permission, Xair."
"Thank you." Xair pulled out a bag and began packing his clothes away. "Amari will be coming with me this time. I need my wife."
"I understand. Leave whenever you need to. Don't worry about anything."
"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Xair asked as he carefully packed some of Amari's glass perfume bottles, wrapping them carefully in silk to ensure they wouldn't break.
"Xair, something happened earlier today."
"What is it?"
Kato held up the silver and turquoise bracelet.
Xair made a pained whimper as he took it in his hands and examined it. "Where did you get this?"
"I found it."
"You found it?"
"Yes. It was in the cash box I stole from an Inquisition shop. I noticed the runes and I knew it was Ka'taylin, so I figured it belonged in your care."
Xair nodded his head and placed the bracelet against his chest. "Thank you. This piece is very important and personal to me and Amari. This belonged to Dayxi Nendo. It was part of the bride price I paid to him for Amari's hand in marriage. Dayxi was my brother-in-law, Amari's brother . . . half brother. He was a bastard child, born of their shared pure father and a priestess. Amari's mother was albino like her. Dayxi was as much a part of their family as if he had been legitimate. We all loved him. Dayxi and I would research ancient texts together. I spent nearly two years handcrafting this bracelet, as was customary for a prospective suitor. It was a great deal of work, but Amari was worth it."
"Wasn't she your slave?"
"Slaves and brides are two very different markets in Ka'taylin culture. Brides are much more expensive. Just because she was my slave, it didn't give me the right to simply claim her for my bed. That's not the way our culture works. Well, I thank you for returning this to me, Kato. You are a wonderful friend."
Kato bit her lip to the point of drawing blood as she watched Xair leave the room. Should she have told him the truth? How could she tell him that she killed his brother-in-law? As much as it was the correct thing to do, she couldn't do it. She gritted her teeth and pushed the truth down in a dire attempt to bury it so no one could find it.
Chapter 9
After dealing with Xair and his demon problem, Kato went down below deck to find Jaylen. Her cabin had been empty and his boots were missing. This far out at sea, there wasn't anywhere he could have gone that wasn't on the ship. None of the crew had reported anyone going overboard, so this was her only course of action.
When she stepped into the makeshift stable the crew had constructed for Naomi, Kato's face flushed red with anger. Naomi was holding Jaylen tightly to her chest and rubbing his back with her manicured fingernails. "What is going on here?"
Jaylen jumped and pushed away from Naomi's arms. "Kato! I . . . uh . . . we . . ."
Kato glared at the centaur. "Why were you holding Jaylen to your chest, Naomi? Is there something I need to know? Something going on between you two? I know that Jaylen has been attracted to you since the day you rescued him. That's all too obvious."
Naomi flicked her braided tail, the red ribbons glistening in the mage-glow. "Haha. You're so funny, Kato. You know, you're quite insecure for being a captain. Don't worry your pretty curls. I haven't been trying to seduce your pet."
"He's my first mate."
"He's your slave! A glorified slave is still a slave. As long as Jaylen wears your collar and you hold the contract bearing his signature, he is legally your slave. Don't add your flowery titles and pretend emotions into this. If you truly loved Jaylen, you would have burned that contract and unlocked that collar around his neck."
Kato gasped. "How dare you? Jaylen volunteered for this. He is the one who wanted this. He signed his life and his freedom away on his own free will. He likes being a slave."
"No one likes being a slave. He enjoys having security and being cared for, but not being your slave toy."
"He's not my toy or my pet. He is my betrothed and the love of my life. If you have a problem with that, you can leave."
"You know what?" Naomi crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Fine. At the next port, I'm leaving and not coming back. Jaylen, I'm sorry that you've chosen this path and that you fell in love with this witch. If you ever want to be with a real woman who knows how to love and respect a man, come find me."
Kato smirked. "He's not into bestiality."
"You sure? I'm not the animal here, bitch."
"Hey now!" Zeriel stepped between the two women as Kato drew her blunderbuss from her belt. "I will ask you to refrain from such harsh words. That's enough, both of you. Look at Jaylen. He's crying because of you two. If either of you actually cared for him, you would have noticed. I'm the only one who was consoling him. You two were too busy fighting over him. Naomi, this is Kato's ship. While you have some valid concerns, you must obey her orders while you are here. Kato, you should be ashamed of yourself. Acting like this in front of your future husband? I've been in this room the entire time Jaylen has been speaking with Naomi. Nothing inappropriate happened between them."
Kato lowered her gun then became painfully aware of Jaylen's quiet crying from the corner of the room. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was seeing Jaylen cry. "Jaylen . . . I'm sorry."
He wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. "I wasn't cheating on you, Kato! I would never do that!"
"I know."
"Naomi and I were trying to plan the wedding. She wanted to help decorate. She was so happy to hear all the details that she gave me a hug. I'm sorry."
Now Kato felt even worse. "I didn't know."
"You didn't ask." Naomi snapped at her.
"You're right. I'll just go wish I was anywhere else but here." Kato slid her gun into its holster then climbed back up the stairs to the deck. All she wanted to do was go drink herself to sleep and wake up when all of this mess was over. She decided to go to her cabin and lock the door behind her so no one could get in. Jaylen would be better off with Zeriel tonight anyway.
As she chugged half a bottle of rum, something other than the alc
ohol hit her. It was the sickening way she was thinking about the man she was engaged to. Jaylen wasn't a puppy or a child. Why did she constantly think of him as being incapable of caring for himself? He was a grown man . . . a grown man with a severe maturity problem and a dependency on being taken care of, but a grown man nonetheless. Treating him like a child was not the way to help him grow up.
Kato had thought that getting married and being intimate with him would cause Jaylen to change and be more hardened and independent, but that wasn't fair to either one of them. Did she love Jaylen for who he was or for who she thought she could turn him into? That was no way to start a marriage. There was something she had to do, but it was not going to go over well at all.
* * *
Jaylen sheepishly shuffled into the cabin and shut the door behind him. His cheeks were still stained with his tears and he sniffled as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "You wanted to speak with me, Master?"
Kato set her newly empty rum bottle on her desk. "Why are you standing in my presence?"
"Forgive me." Jaylen immediately fell to his knees where he remained with his head bowed submissively and his eyes fixed on the carpet under him.
Kato sighed, disgusted at his unquestioning obedience. "I have a severe problem that we need to discuss. Do you have any idea what that problem could be?"
"No, ma'am."
"No what?"
He winced as if he had been whipped. "Master. I'm sorry."
"Ugh. What is wrong with you? Do you not have any pride in yourself? No sense of self-worth?"
Jaylen remained silent.
"Answer me!"
"I don't know!" Jaylen screamed, then broke down crying.
"This is the problem, Jaylen. Do you know what you look like right now? How can you call yourself a man? I might as well take a knife to you right now and solve your gender crisis. Is that what you want?"
"No, Master."
"Stop calling me that! I'm about to be your wife, for Sola's sake. Are you planning on calling me that after we're married?"
Jaylen sniffled as more tears streamed down his reddened cheeks. "If you want me to."
Angel of Darkness Books 6-10 Page 19
