Inner Demons

by Amanda Strong

  “Even if that’s true, why’s it not working the same? Do you think Kory and the ancients altered your DNA more after you’d given it to them?”

  “Got me, but I do think the ancients are holding back on us. They know something, and they aren’t sharing it with Kory.”

  “Which could be good news for us,” Blake confirmed.

  “Yes, it is. So, tell me again how staying in these cages is all part of your plan?”

  Blake chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I better get to the good stuff before things start happening. Before Mack and I took off to track you, we stopped by Tonbo’s and let him know what was happening. After he’d calmed down about me letting you go in the first place, he suggested we go ask the remaining Irukas for help. They weren’t real receptive at first, but with Tonbo and Aster’s convincing, we got a lot of them to agree. We’d need them to even get close to this island.”

  “I don’t really understand. Aren’t all the Irukas in the water? Why couldn’t you just fly over them?”

  Hearing Blake chuckle again, I wished the room wasn’t so black. Not only was it annoying to not be able to see his face, but I also didn’t like the fact I didn’t know what the rest of the bugs were doing. Why were they so silent?

  “You’d be surprised the amount of mischief those fish people can cause. Remember the feeling you had when Aster sang?”

  “Yeah? What was that?” I asked, and then I gasped, “Don’t tell me they can hypnotize people with their songs just like real sirens?”

  “Not exactly, but close enough. The Irukas are part dolphin. Which, I don’t know if you know much about, they are excellent communicators. They’re able to make all kinds of different sounds, one of which is a frequency modulated whistle. For some reason when the two DNA’s mixed, the Irukas seductive song was the byproduct. It’s hard to ignore and can lead people to do unexpected things.”

  “So in other words, they can brainwash people with their singing?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Okay. That’s totally freaky!”

  “Yep. Then add to that the fact dolphins are extremely intelligent and protective, you can see why Kory was so keen on recruiting them.”

  I nodded, even though Blake couldn’t see me. I remembered watching a program on dolphins once where a survivor of a shark attack said dolphins had come to his rescue, fighting off the shark and surrounding the man until he made it to safety.

  “So what happened when you got here?” I asked.

  “When we got close enough, I pretended to be Aster’s prisoner so Kory’s Irukas would buy Aster and the rest changing their minds. That’s why I keep telling you, I let them have me.”

  “Why the bloodied face then?”

  “It needed to be convincing so I let Mack punch me before we got here.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “I wouldn’t have gone down without a fight. Besides, it’s not that bad.”

  I could only stare at the space between us. “So where’s Aster and Mack now?”

  “That’s the good part. Aster is still with the Irukas, waiting for the right time to make her move, pretending she’s on Kory’s side. For all I know, that moment might have already happened. Mack snuck on to the other side of the island. With the huge party down at the beach the other night, most of the island had been deserted. And with the excitement over my capture, no one should have noticed his arrival.”

  “But you don’t know for sure?” I asked, dread filling me.

  “Well, from the looks of it, if they had, they’d have thrown him in here with us, don’t you think?”

  “I guess so, assuming Kory decides to keep him alive.” I frowned. “Blake, maybe we shouldn’t be talking about all this now. I mean, what if the other bugs hear us?” “There aren’t any other bugs in here with us.”

  “What? How do you know? They were here all day yesterday.”

  “Because when I first came to, I heard a lot of commotion. Sounded like cages being opened and people, or things, being rounded up. When the door opened briefly, I made out the silhouettes of all of them leaving, but I was still too groggy to put it all together until you told me what had been in here.”

  “Oh. Wonder why I didn’t hear any of that.” I couldn’t imagine sleeping through the bugs leaving the room. They would have been more than a little noisy.

  “You were asleep,” Blake said easily, as if that were even plausible. “Honestly, it’s so black in here that I didn’t even know you were next to me. You probably were sleeping pretty hard. It’s been an exhausting few days. Are we underground? I swear I feel like I’m in a cave right now. What I’d give for my cell phone or a flashlight.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I never went down any stairs. This room just doesn’t have any windows, and I’m pretty sure it’s night again. Hey, if they took the others out of here, wonder why Kory’s just leaving us alone? Doesn’t it seem strange? Like he should have been torturing us or something?”

  “Actually, them coming to grab those guys might be proof our plan is working,” Blake said.

  “Really? You know you still haven’t told me what this great, big plan of yours is yet, Blake. Like what’s Mack doing?”

  “Okay. I know. Let me explain something first. When we went to Aster, she told us something interesting. After we’d left her to go to see the ancients, she said all the talk over them disappearing got her thinking about some of the Irukas that had gone missing over the past year. Most of them were natural borns around our age. Because it was a group of guys and girls, most of the Irukas chalked it up to teens running away together.”

  “But Aster doesn’t think so?”

  “Not anymore. She’s convinced Kory took them, just like he’s taken everything.”

  “But why only a few of them? It’s not like they could protect the island by themselves.”

  “Exactly. When Kory came to recruit, he did it visibly. But Aster said if someone took the teens, it was done in secret.”

  “Why would Kory?” “Aster thinks he is experimenting on them.”

  “What? Why?”

  “One of the biggest downfalls to the Dragon Fae world is the inability to have children. It’s the one thing that could threaten us with extinction. Our population grows only by injecting new victims. The dolphin and human DNA mix didn’t have the same side effect. Maybe because dolphins are mammals, the gene code is more compatible. Who knows? Either way, they can have children. They won’t die out.”

  I knew my eyes were as big as saucers. I’d heard Blake mention the natural borns, and I’d been dying to ask him if it meant what I thought it did.

  “So… you think Kory is experimenting on them so that… what?” My voice barely carried. I didn’t like where my mind was jumping to. “He can have a baby or something?”

  “Aster is convinced of it. She said either Kory’s strung them up, taking their blood, or he’s tried even worse things. He’s done something to those Irukas he took. And Mack is on the island, trying to see if he can find out what. Once he has proof of what Kory’s done, he will return to Aster, who will then convince all of them to join us.”

  I felt a strange feeling washing over me, starting at the top of my forehead and working its way down, leaving the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge.

  “Join us, to do what, exactly?” I asked, afraid I already knew the answer.

  “Destroy Kory.” He hesitated a moment before adding, “And his bug army.”

  Chapter 39

  “Blake, we can’t just destroy the Defenders!” I argued again, this time jumping to my feet. “This is madness! They haven’t done anything wrong! You’re talking straight-up murder!”

  “Sam, listen to me.”

  “No. I won’t be part of this, Blake. It’s wrong, and you know it!”

  “Sam! You have to listen to me. You don’t understand. The Defenders are still bugs. You want to release a hundred monsters out into the world? And just hope humanity survives?”

/>   I wrung my hands together, pacing the small confines of my cell. There had to be another way!

  “Kory’s army of bugs will change the world as we know it. Dragons are bad enough, but this? They can’t hardly be stopped, Sam. They are drawn to blood and violence. Even if Kory’s subdued their inner animal for now—”

  “He has! I’ve seen it! They aren’t the same. I can’t understand why you refuse to see it when it means hope for your own brother!”

  I heard Blake inhale sharply.

  “Sorry, I don’t want to drag Jaxon into this, but I just don’t get it. Why can’t you accept the fact that Jaxon might be able to live with the bug in him? Why are you so against everything the Defenders stand for? Even when it means a chance for Jaxon?”

  Blake didn’t say anything, and for a moment, all I could hear was the sound of our heavy breathing. We’d reached a crossroad. If Blake pulled the trigger on this… killing the Defenders before giving them a chance… I didn’t know if I could forgive him. It felt wrong on so many levels.

  And yet, even as I sat there, my breath slowing down, I could see his side to it. He didn’t trust Kory, which meant he didn’t trust anything Kory had been a part of. Including the Defenders. In his mind, they were trained killers merely waiting for their master to give the green light.

  “There’s a lot more to Kory and this operation then you realize,” Blake said in a deep voice. “Like what happens if Kory did find a way to fix our reproduction problem? What then, Sam? The Dragon Fae will take over the world. Not to mention the bugs. They’re monsters. Hell, we’re monsters. The world has enough with just us, don’t you think?”

  He sighed. “You act like I enjoy this. Like I want to be the one who declares genocide on a group of people! I never wanted any of this on my shoulders.”

  I dropped down to my knees in front of the bars. “I know. Where’s Tonbo in all this? Shouldn’t he be the one making this decision and not us?”

  “He’s the one who hatched this entire plan. Once Mack gets the proof needed to convince all the Irukas to join us, the singing begins. It will draw the bugs out toward the ocean, where they will follow the Irukas all the way back to Tonbo’s islands,” he said, his tone sad.

  “Tonbo has a large storage shed, not far from one of the beaches. He’s preparing it now. When the bugs come, they will be led into it. Then the doors will be shut and locked. Tonbo’s gathering enough dragons together to make sure we get everyone in there.”

  My stomach sickened. “And what? Gas them or something?”

  Blake didn’t answer.

  “Are you serious? This is way too much like World War Two! Who’s next, the Irukas? Because from where I’m standing, they’re potentially lethal too! I mean, they can convince an entire group to march into a gas chamber, for crying out loud! What if they decide they want to take over the planet next? Are you going to kill them off?”

  “That will never happen. Tonbo has ways to keep them in line.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Sam, I don’t like this anymore than you do! The whole thing makes me want to puke. But do you have a better plan?” There was desperation in Blake’s voice.

  I squared my shoulders, even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I think I do. Or at least, I know someone who does.”

  “Who?”

  “Sammy,” I called out, not really answering Blake’s question. “I know you can hear me; I know you are still somehow aware of what’s happening. I give. Okay? I surrender! You can have me!”

  “Sam? What are you doing?” Blake barked at me, but I ignored him.

  I held my hands out, closing my eyes. “You can take over, Sammy, because I trust you have a plan. Better than killing a hundred islanders who had no idea what they were signing up for.”

  “Sam!” Blake pleaded with me in the dark. “Don’t do this!”

  “Blake, I can’t stand by while you help kill Kalepe and others like him. I won’t do it. I’d rather Sammy win because… I don’t know if I can be with you if you kill them all like this.”

  The words felt heavy and horrible, filling my mouth with acid as they came out. I wished I could take them back, but I couldn’t. It was the truth. Blake had shown more compassion for his brother Jaxon this entire time. And Jaxon had done horrible, rotten things. These Defenders hadn’t done anything. Not yet, anyway. But that did not justify killing them first and asking questions later.

  For a minute, there was nothing but silence between us. Then I heard something that sent me jumping back. A female laughing.

  “Well played, Samantha,” she drawled out from the blackness.

  “Sam? What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered truthfully, trying to place not only where the voice was coming from, but also whose it was.

  There was a soft tsking sound. “I must say, lover’s quarrels are so tedious. Both of you are so passionate about your own standpoint, while scared to hurt the other one’s feelings.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Blake yelled.

  “Ever so demanding, aren’t we, Blake?” the girl answered, growling out his name. “Like I have to answer to you.”

  Confused, my eyes continued darting around the room. Who was in here with us? Had she been in here the entire time? I was pretty sure there were no female Defenders.

  He groaned. “I should’ve known. Just like you, Kate, to hide so no one can see the piece of garbage you really are.”

  Chapter 40

  “Kate?” I blurted, my stomach filling with nerves.

  “Call me every name in the book, I don’t care. I’m not the one proposing genocide.” Her voice carried across the room. “I suppose since you know I’m here now, there’s no point in keeping you both in the dark.”

  Immediately, light flooded the holding cells, temporarily blinding us. Eyes watering, I took in everything, all the empty cages, Blake jumping to his feet, and Kate’s smug grin as she squinted back at us. With her brunette hair hitting her lower back in soft waves, her long, lean body with curves in all the right places, for half a second, I wondered why Blake never fell for her. Minus the whole manipulative, backstabbing part, she’d be quite the catch.

  “There, that’s better,” she said easily. “I really don’t have time to be groping around in the dark.”

  “So why were you?” Blake asked sharply, his eyes narrowing.

  Kate made her way over to my cage. To my shock, she produced a key, which she promptly slid into the lock.

  “Because,” she answered, not looking up as she released the lock and pulled my door open. “I had to make sure Samantha and Sammy were finally on the same page.”

  I could only stare at her.

  She gave me a crooked grin. “So typical of guys,” she said easily, like we were the best of friends. “To think killing and violence is the answer to everything.”

  “Yeah, you’re one to talk,” Blake countered. “I seem to recall you tying Sam up in a cabin and using horror tactics to scare Sammy out of her. I wouldn’t exactly call that non-violence, would you?”

  I could only gape at the pair of them, too shocked to formulate my own words.

  Kate rolled her eyes at him. “We never would have hurt, Samantha. Besides, I seem to recall you forgave Mack pretty readily. Seems a bit odd, seeing how he played just as much a roll in Samantha’s transformation as I did. So what, Mack gets to be one of the good guys, while Sammy and I are left to be the villains of this story?”

  I knew my eyes were saucers and my mouth probably could have caught a fly or two. Did Kate and Sammy really want forgiveness?

  “This isn’t some freaking fairy tale, Kate. You and Sammy need to quit messing with everyone’s lives. Sam’s most of all,” Blake retorted.

  My brain finally registered that Kate was staring back at me, completely ignoring Blake’s comment.

  “Well, you coming or not?” she asked. “As much as I’d love to stay and talk with lover bo
y, we’re actually on a tight schedule.”

  “Oh…” I stalled, my mind a muddled mess. “We’ve got to let him out first.” I rushed over to his cage, where Blake grabbed my hands through the bars.

  “Didn’t I just hear you say you didn’t want to be with him?” she asked, marching over to me.

  My face flushed. “No. Well, I only said that because I can’t… I mean… I couldn’t if he—”

  “Killed all the Defenders?” she finished for me. “Yes, well, news flash, sister. We let him out, and that’s exactly what he’ll do.” She gave Blake an icy stare. “Come on, Samantha. We’ve got to hurry.”

  “Sam, don’t go!” Blake said, pulling me closer to him through the bars. “You can’t trust her. She’s a liar. We still don’t even know whose side she’s on.”

  “I’m on Sammy’s. Which translates into, we don’t kill all the Defenders today because we have another solution.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Kate, for some reason believing her. Blake tugged back on me.

  “I don’t know what she’s planning, but it’s never good. Sam, I don’t want to lose you. Please.” Blake’s voice caught. “Don’t go. We can figure this out together. Maybe we can talk Tonbo into—”

  “Now who’s the liar?” Kate cut in. “You can’t talk Tonbo into anything. Trust me, Sammy already tried.”

  I rocked back. “What are you talking about?” I asked. When did Sammy talk to Tonbo?

  “Bugs remind him too much of what killed his family,” Kate answered, clearly not misunderstanding my question. “He never took the time back then to see if those soldiers could be saved. He only saw them as monsters and didn’t stop until every last one was destroyed. What makes you think he will feel differently today?”

  “Jaxon,” I blurted, still dying to know when Sammy and Tonbo supposedly had this heart to heart. Blake was unusually quiet, his lips pressed in a frown. “He hasn’t destroyed Jaxon. He’s been trying to help him get better, even,” I added.

  Kate gave a bitter laugh. “Yes, Jaxon. My point exactly. Just why isn’t Jaxon getting better? Sammy made sure he got what he needed to be “cured”.” She threw up quotations. “So why isn’t he like the other Defenders? What makes you so sure Tonbo’s helping him, anyway?”