Demon Possession

by Kiersten Fay

  Cale’s body had gone tight his features rigid. “Al I’m hearing is your ignorance! You know not of what you speak.”

  She opened her mouth to apologize again but he cut her off.

  “Quiet!” He threw his sword to the side, it landed with a loud clang making Anya jump. “Sit!”

  She sat, dropping to the floor where she’d stood. Her sword at her side she watched Calic. His energy had gone from amused to murderous in three-point-two seconds. Lost in her rant Anya had forgotten Cale’s history. His own mate hadhurthim badly. She couldn’t imagine a worse feeling, loving someone whocould deceive without remorse.

  Cale was pacing, trying to calm himself before he dealt with her. He took a deep breath giving her his profile. “It sounds like Sebastian was a dolt about it.

  And now you’re being a dolt.” He took another deep breath. “Tel me what happened.”

  Anya hesitated a moment gathering her thoughts. “He said he believes I’m his mate. He said he wanted me to be his forever. He said once he bites me I would belong to him.”And he would belong to her, her mind supplied. She vaguely remembered his exact words“there wil be no other for you but me, and no other for me but you.”She shivered. Had she misunderstood everything?

  “Do you care for him?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t hesitate.

  “Do you love him?”

  Nodding she replied. “Yes.”

  “But you’re afraid.”

  Anya only nodded in response. Cale’sangerhad quickly receded, though his hurt bubbled near the surface.

  “It’s not like you’l become his slave after he marks you,” Cale gave a low chuckle. “If anything, it’s the other way around. When a male demon takes a mate he becomes obsessed with pleasing her any way he can. He’d do almost anything to keep her happy.” Calic paused for a moment with a distant look on his face and the barest smile, as if he were remembering some event in his own past. “The way Bastian dotes on you now? You would be treated no less than a queen.”

  “But he said he would never let me leave, even if I wanted to.”Which she did. She told herself.She must.

  Calic waved a hand in dismissal. “That’s to be expected. When a mate is found there is nothing a male demon won’t do to keep her by his side. When my mate would take a trip into town and was gone too long I would be uneasy until she returned, and that wasafterI had claimed her. If I’d known she was my mate and had not claimed her, I would have chased after her, ripped the town apart looking for her, until I knew she was safe.”

  “You loved her very much, didn’t you?”

  Calic bowedhis head. “There can be no matehood without love.”

  “That’s a nice thought.”

  “Not a thought, scientific fact. We can sleep with a woman, take one as a companion if we please, but without love our bodies are unable to make the proper chemicals needed to claim a life-mate. When the chemicals are activated we are driven, sometimes primitively, to mark our mates.”

  Anya’s heart stopped then revved into hyperspeed. Sebastian had said he believed she was his mate, then later he’d said, “whenI claim you” not, “if I canclaim you” as if he knew he would be able to. Was he tel ing her he loved her? How many times had she seen his fangs at the ready before he backed himself away? And each time she was instinctively unafraid, shockingly eager to be honest.

  Cale was watching her with intent, reading her thoughts through her expressions. With a tilt of his head he gestured to the door.

  Anya had never run so fast in her life, dodging unsuspecting people wandering the hal s, on her way to the control room. Only one thing registered in her mind.Sebastian loves me. That was al she needed to know, al she needed to hear come from his lips. Darius be dammed, they would find a way to keep everyone safe. She had faith in Sebastian’s ability as a captain to keep the ship hidden from Darius. AfterSebastiantel s her he loves her, and after the lovemaking to fol ow,she would tel him al about Darius and together they would figure out a way to evade him.

  Why did everything have to be so far away on this ship?She was nearly halfway there. The image of their future together invaded her mind. Sil y old dreams that she’d never thought would come true—Sebastian holding their beautiful children in his arms, smiling at her with that wicked grin of his. Their children would be beautiful, half demon half whatever-she-was. That’s something else they could discover together.

  Anya was smiling as she raced through the control room doors. Then her stomach dropped into her feet, her throat turned to ash, and her lungs ceased working.

  Like a nightmare made flesh, Darius was scowling down at her.

  Chapter 16

  Anya dove for cover,which happened to be only a few feet away—an extruding part of the wal that would hide her from Darius—but she dove as if it were ten feet away, succeeding, not only in shielding herself,but also slamming her shoulder into the hard wal .

  It didn’t hurt, she only noted that itshouldhave hurt.

  Her body had gone instantly numb. Also noted, was the fact that she couldn’t breathe, trying to remain silent while gasping for air. A hot white flood of terror blasted through her. Her body, suddenly lost al strength, unable to hold itself up, slid down the smooth metal wal until she lay huddled on the floor.

  There she froze, with her rapid heartbeat drumming in her ears, and her throat burning for breath.

  It was possible Darius hadn’t seen her, she quickly assured herself.

  Sebastian stood at his console staring straight at Darius’s face displayed on the large screen at his front. His lips were moving but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. The rush of blood from her too-fast beating heart obscured her hearing. Sebastian must have noticed her entrance, and clumsy attempt at finding cover but he looked as he always did—calm, confident, and arrogant, as if she wasn’t there.

  Had he just smiled? At Darius! At the scourge of her existence!

  Her breaths were stil coming short and her vision was dimming.He’s here!He’s here!He’s here!Her mind kept repeating, as if she didn’t already know that.He’s found me!What has she done?I’ve condemned everyone.

  Sebastian seemed blissful y unaware of the danger peering back at him, looking calmly into the eyes of a murderous psychopath, and … grinning. Anya needed to warn him. Needed to tel him to get away before it’s too late. Before they were al destroyed, by the monster lurking ever closer.

  Gripping her neck with one hand she tried to wil her throat to work properly, she couldn’t get enough air. Theharshpounding of her heart was becoming painful. With a shaky hand she clutching her chest, attempted to take slow deep breaths to calm herself. Luckily she hadn’t eatenyettoday because her stomach was ready to evacuate.

  Vision dimming,Anyatook one last pleading look at Sebastian beforeshe was sucked into unconsciousness.

  Sebastian tucked Anya into his bed. She was stil unconscious but her skin was once again warm, her breathing normalat last. Just after she’d passed out and he was able to cut transmission with Darius, he’d final y—after painstakingly trying to ignore her panicked state, while engaged with Darius—

  wrapped her in his arms while trying to wake her. Her skin was freezing and her lips were turning blue. She’d gone into a severe state of shock.

  After ordering his crew to send for the doctor,he’d raced her up the stairs and held her in the shower,al owing the heated water and his body next to hers to warm her, squeezing her tight until she stopped shivering. Then, out of the shower, he’d stripped off her wet clothes, put her in one of his shirts, and laid her under the covers. The doctor came and went, confirming that she had most likely experienced a traumatic shock, and she just needed to rest. He’d offered to house her in sickbay until she regained consciousness, but after a quick glance at Sebastian he wisely recanted and, before leaving her to Sebastian’s care, merely requested to be informed when she woke.

  Slipping under the covers he pul ed her against him, her back to his chest,offering her the war
mth from his body. Resting his hand between her breasts he al owed the beating of her heart to soothe his anxiety for her.

  Now he knew the truth, knew who had hurt his Anya, who he needed to kil .

  During the conversation with Darius, Sebastian had been pushed to the Edge. While in that muddled and crazed state, he had never had to display so much self-control in his life. He replayed the events in his mind.

  Soon afterSebastian hadwoke this morning, regarding his empty bed and thinking Anya should have been in it, he’d tried to find her. Her room was empty so he’d tried the training room. In an irritated tone Cale informed him she hadn’t shown up yet. Sebastian didn’t stick around long enough for Cale to start griping about punctuality. It was obvious Anya was avoiding him, but he was sure he’d see her at lunchtime when she would bring the cart of food. He had planned to speak with her then.

  But as soon as he entered his control room, the crew roared at him in a panic. A large ship was detected coming straight for them, they had been about to cal for him when he’d entered.

  His instinct to protecthis ship and crewtook over. Ordering the crew to their stations they prepared to defend theMarada, diverting extra energy to the shields. As the large ship came closer, recognition took hold. Sebastian developed a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  This was no coincidence.

  “It’s TheExtarga. We’re being hailed.”Aidan announced.

  There was one reason, and one reason only that would bring Darius this far into the warring zones. Sebastian plastered his face with a relaxed arrogance that felt more forced than it ever had before—far from what he was feeling at the moment—and opened transmission.

  “Darius.” He greeted with a false nonchalance, while envisioning his hands squeezing around the man’s neck. “What a surprise to see you here in the Zones. I didn’t think you ventured this far, careful of the pirates, we’ve been targeted once already.”

  “I did not track you down for a friendly chat. I have urgent business.” His tone was bored, as if it were routine to chase down a merchant ship in one of the most dangerous coordinates is space.

  “Track us down? This isn’t about our latest contract is it? We settled the bil . Negotiations are long finished.”

  “This has nothing to do with that, though an incident did occur, possibly the same day.”

  “Now Darius, my men unloaded every last piece of cargo …”

  “This is not about the cargo!” Exasperation perked through his bored tone.

  Sebastian’s forced smile made him feel like his face was going to crack. But he knew from experience that it was believable. If he was good at one thing it was control ing his outward appearance, even when inside he was seething. “Oh. Then how can I help you?”

  Darius wasted no time. “A dangerous convict escaped my prison around the time of our dealings. I’l need to send some men aboard to search your ship.”

  Sebastian ground his teeth together, quickly calculating the weapons to ship ratio. TheExtargawas a massive ship, equipped with advanced weaponry much of which Sebastian had sold to him over the years. There was no wayMaradacould take it in a fair fight.

  “A convict? You want to search my ship for a convict?” His voice convincingly disbelieving. “Are you accusing me of harboring a criminal from your ship?”

  He let out a short laugh.

  “No I believe a mental y il convict has stowed away on your ship. I would like permission to come aboard.”

  “Captain Darius, have you seen the size of my ship? There’s hardly room for my crew. Not to mention we’ve not been near your ship for months. I think if a man was hiding on my ship we’d have noticed by now.” Sebastian’s crew laughed, as if on cue, at the absurdity of it. Most of them had already become painful y aware of the situation. An undertone of unease flooded the room. Many of the crew had grown fond of Anya and didn’t want to see her taken away any more than he did.

  “It’s not a man I’m looking for.” Darius nearly growled.

  “A woman criminal?Surely you are joking. Captain, my crew is mostly men. Trust me, a woman would have an even harder time staying hidden on this ship.” The crew hooted and hol ered with not-so-fake enthusiasm.

  Darius continued in a drab tone. “I know it seems far-fetched, but in good conscious I cannot rest until I’ve found this criminal. Yours is only one of many ships I intend to search. I’m sure I’l find nothing,but I must be thorough.”

  “I commend you Captain.” Sebastian replied on an almost sarcastic tone. His rage flared at Darius’s act of playing the hero. “Most people, these days, would just right it off and let the man, I mean woman, go instead of wasting valuable resources. Tel me what did this criminal do that merits such a vigilant chase?”

  “She’s a thief and a murderer, without conscience or morals. She had come aboard my ship disguised as a stranded victim of pirates, and betrayed our hospitality at the first opportunity.”

  “Wel there’s your first mistake. Pirates would never leave behind a woman, she’d be part of the take.” Again the crew laughed and hol ered.

  “Yes thank you, I’l remember to seek your council in the future.” Disdain dripped from his words. “She had kil ed many of my crew, intending to take over, before I put a stop to it.”

  “Fascinating, is this a large woman we speak of, with the strength and size of a man perhaps?”

  “No, she’s just under five and a half feet.”

  Sebastian made his eyes widen in shock. “Such a wee creature caused you so much trouble?” Sebastian coupled his surprise with a mocking smile.

  “Between you and me I wouldn’t be spreading that around.”

  Darius kept his features cool but his eyes revealed the anger Sebastian was inciting. Good. It wil throw him off balance.

  “Just let me aboard so I can have a quick look and I’l be on my way.”

  “Unfortunately I cannot.” He didn’t miss the flash of warning in Darius’s eyes.

  Just then someone entered the control room. He didn’t have to look to know who it was. His every cel was tuned to her presence, her scent. Sebastian used al his strength to keep himself in check. He couldn’t look at her, though he badly wanted to. Anyainhaled a sharp gasp and flung herself to cover.

  Although Darius couldn’t see her, he would be able to hear her if she didn’t keep quiet. From the corner of his eye it didn’t seem she could make much noise if she wanted to. He knew she was in the throes of a panic and could do nothing about it, lest he make Darius suspicious. Many of the crew exchanged worried glances but kept to their posts.

  “Why, might I ask, can younot?” Darius continued unaware. Danger lurked in his tone.

  “I’ve recently entered into a contract,” Sebastian explained, exuding the appearance of ease, as if Darius’s pursuit was a trifling matter. “I won’t bore you with the details, but a condition of the contract is that no one is to enter or leave my ship until delivery is made. The Serakians were brought in to activate wards around my ship.” Sebastian never thought he’d be thankful for the wards, and thus a credible excuse. “Feel free to scan the ship and see for yourself.”

  “Convenient.”

  “Convenient? It’s damn inconvenient. Many of my crew have been more than a month without a woman. Their tempers are getting difficult to tolerate.

  Whatever happened to the good old honor system?” Sebastian al owed himself another glance from the corner of his eye. Anya was slumped on the floor pain etched in her features. “Tel you what. I’l have my crew do a thorough search of the ship and get back to you in an hour.”

  “How far until your drop-off? We’l fol ow you.” Darius pushed.

  “We stil have far to go, you’d be waiting months. We came through the warring zones hoping to shave off some time but the pirates have been a nuisance.”

  “I thought you said you’d only been attacked once.”

  “Yes, but we’ve had to double back and change our route to avoid further confl
ict.” Sebastian was great at lying when it came to protecting his family. He would do anything to keep the people on his ship safe. “I promise you we wil do a thorough search. I’l just need to tel the men that there’s possibly a wee woman hiding on the ship and the first one to find her … wel you get the idea.”

  “No!” Darius’s outburst hushed the renewed laughter of the crew. “No one touches her!”

  “Okay.”Especial y not you, you bastard, you’l never touch her again. Sebastian was going to cut off Darius’s hands and shove them down his throat. Along with any other appendage that might have touched his Anya. “No one touches the wee criminal.” He’d used up the last of his patience and control to keep the venom out of his voice.

  As soon as the transition was cut, he lunged for Anya. His chest squeezed with fear at finding her unconscious.

  Anya woke feeling like she’d been tossed into outer space, reeled back in, and tossed back out again. Her brain was pounding in her skul . Her body felt shaky and weak. Her eyes felt strained and her lungs hurt. She sensed Sebastian at her back holding her close to his chest and sought deeper contact, rubbing herself against him. As if he knew what she needed, his arms tightened around her.

  “How are you feeling?” His voice rumbled soft next to her ear.

  “Mmmm.” He was warm and smel ed like a purely intoxicating man. How did she feel? She was here, in his arms. He loved her. That’s al that mattered.