Escape from Endeavor
Page 52
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Daemon ran for almost an hour with Shektee following him before he finally stopped. He put Mystique down and looked for a weapon in case he had to fight. Mystique pulled her knives and retreated back to a tree. Shektee came to a stop twenty feet away from Daemon. She shifted to the form of a human woman she’d seen in Arnold’s mind. She smiled at Daemon. The idea of a human threatening her with a stick would have been humorous in anyone else’s hands.
“I was told to find and help you,” Shektee said, hoping to calm Daemon down some.
“How can I trust anything you say?”
“I cannot make you trust me. You have to do that yourself. Her, I could make do a lot of things, but you are protected. I cannot influence you.”
Mystique tensed when Shektee motioned toward her. She didn’t like any of this.
“I even think you’re doing something to Mystique, and I’ll rip your head off!”
“As you wish, I am here to help. What do you need help with and why are you holding that stick instead of your ax?” Shektee asked as she looked around.
“My sister was taken and I need to rescue her as soon as possible.”
Shektee gave Mystique a puzzled look then turned back to Daemon. “She’s not your sister? When was your sister taken and how far away is she? What took her?”
Daemon was in no mood to play twenty questions with a demon even if it was offering to help. “You want to help, go back and get the ax. I dropped it a few hours ago.”
Shektee was taken aback by the idea of him leaving the ax behind and then something occurred to her. “Show me your arms, please.”
Daemon stared at her for a few seconds before showing his forearms. “What?” he demanded as he looked at the new tattoo of the battle ax on his left forearm.
Shektee thought a bit, then said. “I have heard of tattoo magic. It is very difficult and only elders can normally perform it, but an ancient would be able to make an item with it. May I look closer?”
Daemon didn’t like the idea of her getting close to him but he needed to know what was going on. He took a few moments to decide.
Shektee stood patiently waiting, drinking in Mystique’s fear and enjoying its flavor. Shektee could tell that Mystique was afraid of her but it wasn’t going to stop her from assisting Daemon if he attacked.
Finally, Daemon asked her to sit down, so she did. He walked up to her and showed her the tattoo.
Shektee had seen magical writing before and knew a little magic herself so it took her only a few moments to find what she was looking for. “If I explain to you one of the secrets of the ax will you allow me to accompany you and help you as I was instructed?” Shektee looked up at Daemon. When he didn’t answer she realized he was having lustful thought about her. She worried he might think she was causing it; she wasn’t. She tried to think of what to do, but thought of nothing that wouldn’t make it worse.
“Hey, Daemon she asked you a question. Stop gawking at her and answer. Shektee, could you put some clothes on?” Mystique commented from near the tree.
Shektee, surprised Mystique had helped her, said, “I do not have any.”
Daemon stepped back and turned to look away in shame, before realizing he had to keep an eye on Shektee and spinning back around. “Fine, you can help,” he told her.
“Daemon?” Mystique asked, questioning his decision. She knew she was only along for the ride, and if Daemon wanted to he’d leave her behind.
“What? I don’t know what else to do. She says she’ll help, okay, she can help. You can tell by looking at her she believes I can and will kill her if she gives me a reason to.”
Shektee sat silently waiting while Mystique resigned herself to working with a demon.
“Hold your hands out like you are holding the ax and then say Ur-Um Gil-Im,” Shektee instructed.
Daemon was skeptical but did as he was told, and when he said the phrase the ax appeared in his hands. Daemon was so surprised by the ax’s appearance he almost dropped it. He took another long look at the ax with new admiration. He wondered what other abilities it had that he’d yet to discover. He checked the tattoo on his forearm and found that it was faded but still there.
“Okay, now say, ngen.”
Daemon spoke the word and the ax vanished. He looked at the tattoo and saw that it was bright and new again. He spoke the first phase again; the ax reappeared. Daemon called and dismissed the ax a few times, getting used to the phrases and committing them to memory. Soon, they felt familiar, like he’d been saying them all his life.
“Daemon,” Mystique asked, “how much farther?”
“About an hour’s run. I figured we had to deal with Shektee before we got any closer.”
Daemon walked over to Mystique. She took a hold of his arm and swung herself up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Daemon positioned his arms under Mystique’s legs to help support her. Then he concentrated for a few seconds before heading off in the direction of the ship.
Shektee shifted back into the panther form and followed as Daemon led the way.
28
One of the motion sensors Mac had set up around the ship picked up Daemon as he came running toward the ship. The sound of the alarm woke Jim from his sleep.
He remembered getting the native girl for some fun but then he’d gotten too tired to do much.
He was having difficulty thinking; he was so exhausted. Jim grabbed his med kit—not that he was good at first aid, but he knew which drugs would have what effect, so he located a strong stimulant and injected himself with a full dose. He instantly felt the energy coursing through his veins, waking him up and clearing the fog from his mind. He realized he’d felt good until he got near the girl. She must have done something to him.
He remembered locking her in the bathroom before passing out.
Angelica had figured out how to lock her side of the bathroom door and was aware that Jim had woken up. The alarm had awoken her as well; she didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep. She could hear Jim moving around the cabin and sensed he was angry. She tried to drain him but he was resisting so she couldn’t affect him.
He tried opening the door but it was locked.
Angelica relaxed, thinking she was safe only to tense at the sound of a click from the door.
Jim slid open the door and glared at her. He was holding a metal rod in one hand and a card in the other. “Security passkey opens any lock on this tub, bitch!” Jim stabbed at her with the rod.
Angelica grabbed at it and screamed in pain as a hundred thousand volts of electricity passed through her body. Jim hit her a few more times just for fun.
Her unconscious body convulsed each time.