The Siren's Call (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE)

by McDonald, Donna

  Inside the building, there were two more guards with weapons and another one at a desk.

  Same thing? Malachi asked.

  “Yes. Leave the one at the desk for questioning,” Synar answered out loud, seeing confusion on the male’s face at first, then fear when the guards around him suddenly dropped to the floor.

  He walked to the male and met his gaze. “Where is the female you’re holding as prisoner?”

  “She is not harmed, just unconscious,” the guard quickly said, lifting a set of keys from the top of the desk and holding them out. Then he noticed the angry male’s glowing eyes. “I do not wish to die at the hands of a demon.”

  “Then you had better hope she still lives,” Synar told him. “Take me to her and tell me how you planned to capture the demon.”

  “A master waits for her demon to return,” he answered, caring only to save his life while he could.

  Looks like you guessed right, Synar sent.

  Shall I kill your would-be competition? Malachi asked.

  Not just yet. If it can’t be avoided, I would prefer to do it myself, Synar replied, feeling Malachi quiver at his words.

  Just before they got to the cell, Synar pushed the guard to the wall.

  “Stay there and remain silent until we finish this. If you try to flee, you’ll meet the fate of the other guards. Do you understand?” Synar whispered.

  Seeing his nod, Synar let him go and peered into the cell. The door was open and a large male in robes paced the area. On the table were books that Synar suspected were a matching set to his. Ania was stripped naked and shackled to the wall, both at wrists and ankles. Around Ania’s neck was a demon’s amulet that looked just like Malachi’s—or rather Conor’s now.

  Seeing her unconscious form so at the mercy of her captor, Synar’s anger rose to blinding rage, but he tamped it down hard. It took every tiny bit of control he had not to have Malachi strike the male dead where he stood.

  Synar walked into the cell, pulling his fighting knife and the stunner from his belt.

  “Trying to capture my demon?” he asked the male who turned wide eyes to him.

  “Yours?” he asked calmly. “It is mine after today. I have the host body, the amulet, and the words of control. All I need is the demon to show up.”

  “How disappointing for you to be visited by the demon’s master instead,” Synar said. “Now free my mate or you die.”

  “Your mate? Are you insane? This female carries a demon within her. I don’t know what she told you, but she is not a normal female. There are many others for sale on this planet. I will split the profits with you, and you can buy any female you want, perhaps even two,” he said. “If you kill me you get nothing. Conor Synar has promised a fortune to the one who brings him a demon.”

  “Money? This is about money? So Ania was right. Some beings are just too far gone to be redeemed,” Synar said, knowing for sure now that had included his brother. “Sad to tell you, but Conor Synar is no longer interested. So you won’t be getting that great sale after all.”

  The male moved quicker than Synar could have guessed, and in a blink had a knife at Ania’s throat while he hid behind her. “Come closer and the female you called your mate dies now. The demon is not here to save her, and you would kill her getting to me.”

  “Yes, but if she dies, you would die suffering in ways you’ve never dreamed. If fact, if I see even a drop of life force leave her, you will do so,” Synar said. “Put the knife down and leave. This is your only chance to survive.”

  What went through the male’s mind, Synar would never know. He reared back with his knife and stabbed Ania’s body in the back, the knife causing her body to jerk as it penetrated.

  “No!” Synar yelled, running forward to embrace Ania’s body. “Malachi.”

  The male ran past Synar and out of the cell.

  What do you want me to do? Malachi asked.

  “Kill him quickly and return to Ania,” Synar ordered, pulling off his cloak and wrapping it around her naked form. The knife was keeping the wound mostly closed so Synar left it in place. His rage was blinding, but the need to care for her was stronger.

  “Guard! Come here and release her now,” he ordered, his eyes broadcasting his connection to Malachi more strongly than they ever had. His mind was with the demon seeking the end of the male who had hurt his mate.

  The guard hustled into the cell, calling out in fear as he heard the other male screaming in agony a short distance away.

  “Ask me what you wish, just do not send the demon to kill me.” His hands shook as he took the keys from the kneeling male and unfastened the shackles all around.

  “What drug has been given to her?” Synar demanded.

  “Pentanes. The effects last for three days,” the guard said.

  Synar nodded. Once Ania’s body was freed, Synar lifted it gently over one shoulder. She was hurt, and it was his fault for hesitating. He should have just killed the male in cold blood. He should have had Malachi do it. It was the repeating pattern of his life that his hesitation always brought pain to those he cared for.

  “Shackle yourself in her place,” Synar ordered.

  The guard hesitated a moment, then he did as asked, handing Synar back the keys.

  “Do not call out or scream for help. The smallest cry of alarm will doom you,” Synar warned before walking out of the cell with Ania.

  Malachi returned and went into Ania’s body without waiting for Synar to order it. Moments later, he came out again.

  The knife did not hit vital organs, but when it is removed, the bleeding will be a problem, as well as the damaged tissue. The metal was Ceruse and is quite poisonous to most creatures. I can’t work on her until the knife is removed for fear of causing the bleeding. It is best to attempt the healing onboard the Liberator. I think she should make it until then. I am glad now I made her so strong during our merging, Malachi sent.

  Not answering, Synar walked out of the building and pressed the com button on his jacket. “Gwen? Are you at the shuttle yet?”

  “No, we had a bit of problem leaving the city. Zade and I had to take out a few more guards. Good news for you maybe if you’re close behind us,” Gwen said.

  “I’m just now leaving. Ania is badly hurt. She got stabbed when we tried to free her,” Synar reported, choking on the words. “Warn Boca. We have to leave the knife in place for now to keep her from bleeding. She’s unconscious.”

  “We’ll be watching for you. I’ll have the shuttle ready to go when you get here,” Gwen told him.

  “Synar out,” he said, disconnecting.

  Liam, I realize this is not the time for a lecture, but you know Ania would have done just exactly what you did if the situation had been reversed. She would not have wanted to kill him at first either, Malachi sent, pleased more than he wanted to admit when he felt Liam relaxing. Afterwards though, your mate might have thought of something less lethal than death, yet extremely clever and wicked to punish the entire species of that planet.

  Too bad it so sorely disappoints you that I am not as warrior minded as my mate, Synar sent resentfully as he walked.

  His emotions rioting, Synar felt the demon’s compassionate energy pressing on him and almost ordered his silence. Then he thought of the female he carried telling him they were both responsible for the demon’s reform.

  Fine. What do you think Ania might do to a planet full of self-serving slave owners and traders?

  Liam, there is no need to hide your disgust of them from me. It is satisfying enough to my energy that the male who threatened you two is now just a few granules of dust to be picked up on someone’s shoes. I felt your desire for his death even as I destroyed his corporeal form.

  Synar shook his head. You know Ania would not have ordered his complete obliteration.

  True. Ania seems to prefer to torture and leave a sample behind, but really you and I both know that someone abusing the books of training shouldn’t be running around free anyway. I
prefer to believe the Creators may have wanted me to end him. Let’s go with that.

  His destruction still came too late to keep Ania safe, Synar sent.

  Ania would tell you that regret changes nothing. She will not die from this wound. I will not allow that happen, even if it means I have to dwell within her and neglect your brother’s body. Her well-being comes first with me as much as it does with you, Malachi sent back.

  Your loyalty is noted, now shield us from sight, Synar ordered, walking steadily toward the gates of the city, moving past all the uniformed males coming in and out the guard building with dead bodies and scared slaves begging for mercy.

  Liam, I saw you slip the demon’s amulet off Ania and put it in your pocket. It doesn’t call to me as strongly as my own, but it still calls to me.

  Don’t worry, it’s not meant for you. So long as you properly care for Conor’s body, I will have no reason to use it, Synar sent.

  Good to hear. Now let’s see if I can envision what Ania might do to these people. At her insistence, I have been spending a lot of time practicing nonviolent thoughts instead of blatantly evil ones. This shouldn’t be too hard.

  Snorting with impatience, Liam shifted Ania gently on his shoulder, hoping his strength would hold out long enough to carry her back to the shuttle. Her new physical form was a lot sturdier, but also a lot heavier.

  I know she’s heavy, but it was a change for the better. Warriors need muscles. Okay. I have an idea about the punishment. What if I were to free all the slaves from their collars and take out the transmitters that bounce the signals of the controller devices? Let the slaves rebel and do the killing for us. She would be happy because we taught them a life lesson, and we can listen to galactic reports about the chaos that ensues. I’ll make sure the weapons all fail as well. In fact, I’m going to take out all power sources except those needed for life support.

  Synar snorted again, but this time with humor. It really was a clever idea.

  I heard that. Is your amusement the same as permission? Ania will be pleased with us. Trust me, Malachi sent.

  How long will all that take to accomplish? Synar asked

  A bit longer than simply killing everyone, but I think I can calibrate some linked explosions among the transmitters. I would explain the physics of sending a single tone to activate them, but it would only make your head hurt. Just know that the chaos should provide cover for the shuttle’s exit and deter anyone from coming after us, Malachi sent.

  Do it, Synar said firmly. On your way back, flatten the prison she was in so they’ll know the penalty for harming slaves. Meet me at the shuttle.

  Now? Don’t you think you’ll run into problems at the gate? Malachi asked.

  Synar pulled his stunner from his belt. None I will hesitate to solve this time.

  He felt Malachi zipping away like a light beam as the last thought passed between them.

  Chapter 11

  Standing at the front portal of the shuttle, Boca waved to the two armed guards who were circling around outside and directing her to open the door. Worried they might actually fire on the shuttle with their weapons and damage it, she realized that confronting them was really her only choice.

  Running quickly back to the first aid supplies, she grabbed the two scalpels she’d seen there earlier. She slipped them into the pocket of her Medical tunic, and then calmly lowered the boarding ramp, boldly walking part of the way down it to discourage them from coming onboard to retrieve her. She wanted to keep them from finding Malachi’s host body if she could.

  Seeing a predatory gleam in one of the guard’s eyes didn’t bode well for that possibility or one where they might actually be stopping by to offer assistance to a downed shuttle. Their possessive gazes proclaimed what her intuition had already warned her about. They had no intention of helping her, but every intention of taking her prisoner.

  “You’ve landed a shuttle outside the permitted boundary,” one of the guards said.

  “My apologies if we have broken your laws. My mate was ill and we had no choice but to land,” Boca lied, trying for the saddest expression she could muster. “I think he might even be dead, but I was afraid to go for help.”

  The guard with the bigger gleam in his eye pointed a weapon at her while the other one ran into the shuttle, returning quickly with a report that there was indeed a mostly dead male body onboard the craft.

  The one who had been aiming his weapon at her smiled. “What you say is truth. Your mate is dead.” His gaze and his smile shifted to the other male. “Looks like we just found a new slave to sell.”

  They exchanged a look that had Boca tensing.

  “She’ll bring a nice sum on the market for the chief, but I’m not giving her up until I’ve tried her out myself. Here—hold my weapon,” the older guard said to the younger one.

  “Put the weapon back in your holster. The chief is not going to like it if you damage her,” the younger guard said in warning.

  The older guard walked up to Boca and looked down on her. “If she doesn’t resist servicing me, she won’t get hurt. Let’s go back into the shuttle, prize. I wish to avail myself of your body.”

  “No,” Boca said firmly. “To touch me would be to die today.”

  He laughed at her comment and didn’t see the scalpel swiping until he felt something wet running down his face. He lifted a hand and pulled it away covered with life force.

  “You’ll pay for that with marks of your own,” the guard said, grabbing her shirt and lifting her to throw her down.

  Boca shoved the blade she had through his throat, causing him to drop her immediately. The guard’s life force spewed and covered her tunic front as he fought to speak and she fought to keep from falling down.

  “I am unfamiliar with your species or I would have tried to do less damage,” Boca said calmly. “If you seek medical help immediately, you even might live. I will not try to stop you from leaving.”

  Seeing the second guard squeeze the trigger on his weapon, Boca threw herself down and hit the ramp face first, the metal of it scratching her face as she saw the stun beam flash over her.

  “Slaggika,” she swore in Sumerian, feeling the sting in her cheek as she raised her head and climbed to her feet.

  Keeping low, she sent herself flying into him, the impact carrying them both over the side of ramp. His weapon flew out of his hand, and she had the second scalpel stuck in the younger male’s throat before she climbed off him.

  Now she had two males with hands at their throats trying to remove what she had shoved there. Neither was being successful, but they were making a racket with their gargling sounds and stumbling around against the sides of the craft. Fearing there might be more guards patrolling, Boca decided the best course of action was to completely kill them.

  Lacking more blades and the necessary training to kill them by hand, Boca picked up the dropped weapon that had been used to fire at her, looking closely at it as she tried to figure out the symbols well enough to set it to kill. Trained only in the most basic combat, she had not advanced to blast weapons before Rogan had made her stop training.

  She turned the weapon out towards the sounds of footsteps, only to lower it immediately when she saw the ragged group of her comrades emerge slowly from the trees.

  Seeing Boca with uniformed guards nearby, Gwen jogged ahead of the group, swearing at how much her feet hurt as the raw soles of them pounded on the barren hard ground. A short distance away she stopped to raise an eyebrow at the blood on Boca’s shirt and to look at the severely injured guards, one leaning against the shuttle, the other sitting by the ramp.

  “I am trying to finish killing them, but can’t figure out which setting is correct,” Boca explained, looking at the wounded males with disgust. Fighting with knives was always messy. She needed to learn a better way.

  Gwen took the weapon gently from her, blasting each male in turn. “It really doesn’t matter if it’s kill or stun. If they don’t die, at least stunned they wo
n’t be so distracting while we wait. Are you okay?”

  Boca shrugged. “My only injury is that I hit my face on the ramp when I had to fall down to avoid a weapon blast.”

  Gwen smiled, sorry she’d missed watching Boca fight.

  “Never dive face first. Always roll to the side,” Gwen advised the irritated female, making a mental note to talk to Synar and Ania about Boca’s surprising talents. “Malachi’s host body okay?”

  Boca shrugged again. “I think it is fine. One of the guards checked it and pronounced it dead, but he didn’t linger with it long enough to do anything serious. They had plans for availing themselves of me instead.”

  “Males are so predictable,” Gwen said sharply, reaching out to pat the much smaller female on the shoulder. “You did good.”

  Boca nodded. “I see you found Lieutenant Zade.”

  “Sort of,” Gwen said, watching Zade lift one unconscious male and throw him out of the potential engine fire of the shuttle craft. Jordon didn’t have the same strength, so he ended up dragging the other one off to discard him. In the end, both Zade and Jordon looked satisfied, which had Gwen rolling her eyes but still grateful they had done the dirty work without her asking.

  “Zade has lost his memory, but the connection between us is keeping him with me. Sarinnea insisted we bring along a friend she met. Synar is on his way here, bringing a drugged, unconscious Ania who’s been stabbed in the back,” Gwen said.

  “Slaggika. I will need the scalpels back then. There are no more onboard,” Boca said in consternation. They needed to put more than one first aid kit on the shuttle. She would mention it to Medical when they returned. What if there were two wounded people? What then?

  Gwen watched a determined Boca run down the ramp and over to the guard’s bodies to jerk the blades from their throats with a practiced twist any warrior would have envied. Gruesome, but effective, Gwen thought.