The Demon Master's Wife (Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE)

by McDonald, Donna

  Sarinnea shook her head, but a female Chiang hadn’t met stepped forward.

  “My name is Boca Ador. I have filtered many times. It would be my honor to assist in Commander Jet’s healing. I take it I’m to support Lieutenant Zade?” she asked.

  Chiang blinked at her in surprise. She not only knew what to expect, but which of them to help. Who was this female?

  “Yes, you will help Lieutenant Zade. Are you an intuitive?” Chiang asked.

  “I serve in many ways, but all of what I am is grateful to have been saved from those who have harmed your commander,” Boca said, going to stand behind the lieutenant. She placed her hands on his shoulders to make a physical contact, only then realizing the giant male was still as tall as her sitting down.

  “Lieutenant, whatever you take from Commander Jet energetically, you may pass to me. I will absorb its vibrations and work on releasing it while you work on the next issue. In this way, you will be able to keep up with the pace her body takes in the healing,” she told him. “Chiang rightly assumes that the commander will be—proactive in shedding what she suffered.”

  Dorian looked over his shoulder at her. “Do you know what I will be removing from her?”

  “Yes—I know exactly. I was also cleansed before I was wired,” Boca said. “There is nothing Commander Jet endured that I have not. Give my comfort no consideration. I have a strong will to survive.”

  “Indeed,” Dorian said, remembering her carrying the severed hand of her captor almost proudly. “Then let us begin.”

  “Let’s start over the spot where they fed the wires,” Chiang suggested, folding down the covers and putting his hands over the wounds on her thigh as Dorian did the same on the other side of her. “In healing, all roles must be set aside. I’m going to use everyone’s given name for this work because it is linked to the physical body most strongly. Okay, I can already feel the trauma in her legs. Do what you need to remove the negative energy around it, Dorian. I will heal Gwen’s physical wounds after the pain energy is removed.”

  Dorian chanted, ignoring Gwen’s constant groaning beneath his hands. His chants were strong and he could feel what he extracted passing into Boca. On the other side of the bed, he saw Chiang’s hands emitting energy and sending it into Gwen’s legs.

  It took several minutes, but they finally got to the memory of the very first wire. The searing shock of it had Gwen swearing at them as she had at her captors.

  Seeing a clear vision of her helpless as it was first done, Dorian paused in his chanting. Gwen’s eyes closed and her fists clenched against the bed covers When he felt Boca’s hands squeeze his shoulders in encouragement to continue, Dorian resumed the chant, relieved when the last of the pain ebbed away.

  Yet as difficult as the pain of the wiring had been to heal, nothing could have prepared any of them for what they found next.

  Gwen’s pleading and crying destroyed Dorian’s objectivity and along with it his control. Helpless to prevent it, his spirit insisted on sharing her agony. Dorian watched in his vision as Gwen fought to keep his energy. Because she had fought, it had taken a long pain-filled time for them to remove it all from her. Then she had wept and wept hard when they had been successful, sobbing in her enormous grief over losing their mating connection.

  Though compassionate creatures, Sirens rarely shed tears because they were tiring and painful, depleting their bodies. Yet Dorian felt tears running down his face as he pulled the physical effects of the cleansing ritual trauma from his mate.

  He had let Gwen’s caustic personality shield him from the truth of her feelings for him. How very foolish he had been to not value her as he should have, not to have respected her spirit that was already linked to his. Only now did he see how much Gwen had cared, now when there was so little left between them.

  “It’s almost over,” Chiang said roughly, not letting his own emotions keep him from his healing task. He made himself focus on the healing when all he wanted was to take some action that would permanently end the torture that planet’s males inflicted on their females. Even though he was a healer and not a fighter, Chiang would still have gladly stood and watched the males who did those things to Gwen and Boca Ador die.

  “Death is far too merciful for the males of Lotharius. May the creators think of a fitting punishment and curse them to be on the receiving end of what they have done,” Chiang said.

  Then at last it was over and Gwen lay motionless in the bed, no longer making a sound, just staring blindly off, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. Chiang lifted his hands, pulling the covers back up and tucking them tightly but gently around her.

  Dorian stopped chanting and shifted his touch from Gwen’s legs to her hands.

  Chiang looked at Dorian, true compassion in his gaze for the hurting Siren. Now that he’d seen the depth of the bond they had lost, he wanted nothing more than to help restore it. It was like someone had turned out a light that had been shining inside both of them. Chiang had never seen what that kind of connection was like before.

  “Do not be concerned that Gwen has pulled away from us—or you. It is not uncommon for patients to go into this kind of shock. Her mind was simply unable to bear reliving it all again so soon. She hears us and knows we are here, but just can’t deal with it right now. The shock should ease by tomorrow,” Chiang said. “After her mind returns, then the body should soon follow.”

  Dorian felt Boca remove her hands from his shoulders, and looked back to see her weaving and pale.

  “Ania, ask the dem—ask Malachi if anything can be done for Boca. I sense she took on too much,” Dorian said.

  I can take the pain from her, Malachi sent quickly.

  At what cost, Ania asked?

  None, he answered. I swear it by the creators.

  Ania walked to Boca. “Malachi can help if you are willing to risk it,” she said.

  Boca nodded, not knowing what else she could do.

  Malachi came out of Ania and disappeared inside the weaving female. Ania had to grab Boca’s arms to keep her from falling.

  Moments later, Malachi came back out and returned to Ania.

  Boca swayed, but in a couple more moments was able to right herself.

  “Are you okay?” Ania asked.

  Boca nodded. “It’s gone. All of Gwen’s—I mean, Commander Jet’s trauma, and some of my own.”

  “I guess Malachi got a little carried away. He sort of feeds on misery,” Ania told her. “If you feel any negative effects, let me know. He swore by the creators. They are the only beings in existence that he fears.”

  Boca took a few deep breaths and stood straighter as she turned to speak to the concerned male still sitting by the bed.

  “Lieutenant Zade, it would be best if Commander Jet had someone stay with her tonight. Psychic healing is harder on Earthlings than many other beings. The medics said she was Thelorian too, but her physical makeup is primarily human from what I read in her history. I would venture to say the greatest part of her mind is as well. If you need me to stay with her, it would be my honor to do so.”

  Dorian nodded. “Thank you, Boca. We’ll let you know. May I ask you a question?”

  “You may always ask,” Boca replied. “I will answer if I can.”

  “Why did Fener Sel’s kind do a cleansing on you?” Dorian asked. “Did they steal you from a mate?”

  Boca met his gaze, almost relieved to be able to say it aloud to someone at last. She had never been allowed to speak of her loss to anyone, not even to the other females she knew. They had feared their Lotharian mates and refused to listen.

  “My mate died long before I went to Lotharius, but I never—I never found another like him and declined to replace him. I only went to the planet out of duty to the Peace Alliance. It never occurred to me that I would lose my ability to make a choice. I carried my mate’s vibrations proudly. Fener Sel had them take my mate’s energy away thinking it would make me more loyal to my assigned captor. Instead, I only hated him more. The
y took the energy, but they were not able to remove memories of my time with him. I always retained a sense of my captor as a wrong mate despite my Sumerian programming.”

  “I know of the deep connection within your mating bonds. It makes me even more compassionate for what you endured,” Dorian said. “May you find peace now.”

  “Peace is all I want, Lieutenant Zade. That’s all I really want,” Boca said, walking out of the medical area.

  Dorian noticed Chiang’s interested gaze followed her. “Boca is a brave healer and a brave female to accept it herself, from a demon no less.”

  “Aye,” Chiang said. “I have the strangest sense of having met her before. It is almost like I feel what she feels.”

  Dorian sighed in understanding. “That’s how it starts for most of us.”

  “How what starts?” Chiang asked.

  “The journey to your destiny,” Dorian told him, listening to Ania laugh at his avoidance of speaking a truth that wasn’t ready to be heard yet.

  Chiang headed out just as the communications chief on duty at the time came rushing into medical, skidding to a stop in front of Synar. “Captain, we just intercepted a message being sent out from the Liberator. It made no sense so I stopped it until I could show it to you. Here.”

  He passed over the portable com unit where the words of the message flashed across the screen in English. ‘I have confirmed your demon is inside Ania Looren.’

  Synar looked at him, mouth hard and frowning. “Who sent this message?”

  “Ambassador Onin,” he said. “The forwarding address was coded so I could not determine where it was going without questioning the source.”

  “I think I know where it’s going,” Synar told him, and then looked at Dorian and Ania. “My guess is that the message is being sent to Conor, which means he’s already found us.”

  He looked back at the younger male, wishing for the first time that he hadn’t staffed his ship with so many young, green crew members.

  “You did the right thing letting me know, Ensign. Block Ambassador Onin’s ability to send messages and have her activities discreetly monitored for now. If she inquires, tell her our communications device is being repaired. See if she’s sent any successfully before.”

  “Aye, sir,” the ensign said, heading back to his post.

  “Care to join me for some book reading?” Synar asked, looking at Ania.

  “It wouldn’t be my first choice of evening activities,” she replied.

  “Mine either,” Synar said wistfully, and then he looked at Dorian who looked almost as bad as Gwen. “Want me to see if Boca can take care of Gwen?”

  “No. My mate will be in my room tonight,” Dorian said firmly, letting everyone listening know how he felt, even if Gwen was unable at the moment to deny or confirm their status.

  Dorian recognized that in working on Gwen, he had become traumatized himself. At the moment, he was beyond being able to think about what was right or fair. His sense of letting his mate down would have to heal in its own time, but he wasn’t going to get any rest at all during the next two sleep cycles if Gwen Jet wasn’t beside him. Holding her while she slept might help him set aside the memory of what the Lotharians did to her and how hard she had wept over losing her connection to him.

  Synar nodded, not questioning Dorian’s decision. “Ania will be in my formal quarters. I’ll grab a stimulant to help me take the watch tonight. You can relieve me tomorrow.”

  Dorian nodded on the outside, but inside he was shaking his head at Liam’s obstinacy about not letting his junior officers ever take the night watch on the ship.

  “You need a spare Lieutenant,” he said, irritated with Liam’s stubbornness.

  “Not a first mate?” Synar asked, hoping his teasing question lightened his friend’s spirit. It was rare to see a Siren depressed, and he didn’t like seeing both Dorian and Gwen hurting.

  “No—you will have no need of a new first mate until the current one retires the post,” Dorian confirmed, carefully wrapping blankets around her before lifting a still blindly staring Gwen from the bed. “Now that I better understand my mate’s deep sense of loyalty to what she cares about, I could never ask her to give up her work. I will find a way to cope with sharing her interests.”

  Dorian bowed his head to Synar, then walked out of medical with Gwen cradled safely in his arms.

  Chapter 20

  Ania watched Dorian go before turning to Synar with her own thoughts. The lines of worry on his face tugged at her natural compassion for him, making her search for any encouragement she could offer.

  “If it’s any consolation, Malachi says he likes you more than your brother. He told me the story of your family when I saw the history ended with your father’s last entry.”

  “Did he also tell you what kind of dark spirit Conor turned out to be?” Synar asked bitterly.

  “Yes. I can certainly understand why your father passed control of Malachi to you,” Ania said, walking beside him as they headed to the captain’s quarters.

  “Did he also tell you that Conor killed our father over it? My father locked the door to his chambers and did the ritual quickly, passing care of the demon to me. Almost to the moment the final words were uttered, Conor broke in. I called Malachi out who managed to save me, but I forgot that he was under no obligation anymore to automatically save my father. Conor stabbed him before I could order Malachi to stop it from happening,” Synar explained.

  “Can Conor take Malachi from you?” Ania asked.

  Synar nodded. “From what I have read—yes, but only if I am dead,” he said. “That’s not what Conor wants.”

  “What does he want?” Ania asked.

  “Conor wants me to transfer Malachi willingly which I have told him I will never do,” Synar said. “He wants the full inheritance he feels was taken from him.”

  “Your brother’s desire to control the demon was one of the reasons I did what I did,” Ania said softly. “Malachi seems to understand him quite well. He warned me that Conor craved his power.”

  Synar held open the door of his quarters, letting Ania go inside first. “What do you mean Conor was one of your reasons?”

  “Because of my merger, Conor can never have total control anymore. Malachi’s first loyalty has been passed from any demon master he will ever have in my lifetime to me. Conor would have to kill both of us to achieve his true goals,” Ania said.

  Synar blinked at her in surprise. “You permanently linked yourself to the demon because of my brother? That’s ironic—and even more humbling for me.”

  He shook his head and walked through the sitting area to sit on the edge of a generous bed.

  Ania looked around at the bedroom, but brought her attention back to Synar. “Why is that ironic? You don’t have complete control now either. Conor wasn’t my only motivation.”

  “The only reason I left you two years ago was to keep Conor away from you and Malachi. I knew he would never imagine that I would put the demon into you. I took the body of the strongest dead male killed the day you were hurt and fled with it. I knew Conor would hear and assume that male was the new host,” Synar explained. “When word came that you and your parents had been attacked again, I knew Conor had gone back to the beginning to start his search over.”

  “Then the trial made the truth public,” Ania said flatly.

  Synar nodded. “It was entered into public records on your planet. So Conor knows exactly where Malachi is now.”

  “What are we going to do?” Ania asked.

  “Fight when Conor finds us. Perhaps I’ll kill my brother this time,” Synar said, his voice tired of the burden.

  “I’m sorry, Liam. A greed for power can be very corruptive,” Ania said softly.

  “He killed my father while I watched,” Synar said coldly. “Malachi could have stopped Conor, but he is forbidden from taking his life. I was the only one who could have prevented it, but I did not act fast enough. I was too late in believing Conor capabl
e of what my father had proclaimed.”

  “So did Conor just get away with what he did?” Ania asked, watching Liam lean backwards to lie on the bed and close his eyes.

  She said nothing more, just slid into a seat at his desk while she waited for him to answer her.

  Liam was in shock when he saw what Conor did to Bogdan, Malachi sent. He cared for them both and did not want to accept Conor’s evil nature. What Liam feels for his brother makes him weak.

  What Liam feels for his brother makes him compassionate, Ania corrected. It makes him not Conor and proves his father was right to pass responsibility of you to Liam.

  Which now you share, Malachi reminded her.

  Which now I share, Ania agreed. Unlike Liam, I would have no problem killing his brother if that’s what it takes.

  You would kill him even if Liam would hold it against you? He would, you know. That’s how Liam is about those things, Malachi warned.

  The comment hovered in her mind while she studied Liam’s body at rest, then Malachi shared the bad news.

  Unfortunately, now you won’t be able to kill Conor either. If you do, you will lose our bond and I would lose you as my host. You and I are one now to the creators of all. I cannot kill a member of the Synar family, and now neither can you. Details of our arrangement can be found in the sacred books of training.

  If I can’t kill him, then I will find another way to defeat him, Ania sent. Now leave me alone while I talk to Liam.

  One thing more—Conor has nothing preventing him from taking your life, other than me. I can restrain him, but I cannot end him.

  I said I would find a way, and I will, Ania sent, her eyes flashing. She willed herself to calm before speaking to Liam.

  “Liam, tell me what happened to Conor after he killed your father,” Ania ordered softly.

  “I had him arrested for our father’s murder. Instead of being killed, Conor was exiled as we all tried to honor my father’s dying requests to spare Conor’s life so he might have a chance to be redeemed. If I had killed Conor then, none of this would have happened, and you would never have gotten hurt in the first place. Everything that has occurred after that point has been because I could not bring myself to shed my brother’s blood by my own hand,” Synar said.