Unexpected Demon

by Layla Stone

  He saw more people bleeding in cages—holes in their bodies, mostly red blood. Terrans, then. He saw several prone forms on the ground, limp. And once he checked their necks…lifeless. But he didn’t see any blood, so he assumed it was Sci.

  The Cerebral could take out minds, but it quickly depleted his energy. He must have used the last of his reserves to protect Yon.

  Looking at the bodies around him, Pax decided to call out instead of stumbling into Yon’s arsenal, whatever he was using.

  “Yon. Get out here and tell me what the hell happened to Vivra.”

  Everything was silent for several seconds, and then Yon walked out from behind a wall. His shirt was wet with either blood or sweat; from the distance, Pax wasn’t sure. But his pale arms were dripping with his Yunkin grey blood. His white Federation jacket was gone, but he still wore his grey undershirt, the Red Demon lines on his collar visible.

  In one hand, he held a Terran rifle, and there were two thick, black straps crossed over his shoulders.

  “Vivra escaped to the other hangar. The red one. She’s with one of the Flourg.”

  Pax noticed that Yon was speaking confidently, but he was slouching on the wall, still…as if the structure was the only thing holding him up. “Sci said her mind was gone. Maybe she got off the planet.” Pax said the words but didn’t believe them. He was just happy to see his crewmate alive. But he realized the male was in bad shape.

  Yon pushed off the wall and limped forward. “That Bolark can’t fly, and I would bet my blood that Yelena doesn’t either.”

  “Who?” And, what the hell was a Flourg?

  Yon took three more steps, and then his knees gave out, causing him to hit the floor. Pax ran to him, calling out for his team. Lynn was there in the next second.

  “We’re loading the wounded first.”

  Of course, they were.

  “Let’s get him loaded, then,” Pax said to Lynn.

  Yon pointed the black barrel of his rifle at Lynn. “Don’t touch me. I’m fine. I’ll get myself to the ship.”

  At that, Pax looked at Lynn, giving him a playful grin. “Ignore him. He’s old and crotchety.”

  Lynn’s hand were still up, and he didn’t try to touch Yon again. “I don’t know how old you are XO, but I do know that you’ve lost a lot of blood. I can give you my shoulder if you’d like.”

  “No. No, I wouldn’t like,” Yon growled, pushing himself off the ground. Pax shoved his arm into Yon’s free hand and helped to pull him up.

  “You’re getting fat, and I need to find Vivra. You’re slowing me down. Take the damn help.” Pax wouldn’t leave the bastard to bleed to death just because the Yunkin was too stubborn to accept help. It was very convenient that the last time the male had almost died, he was blessedly unconscious for the entire trip.

  “At least I’m not ugly,” Yon quipped, not shrugging off Pax’s help as they made their way to the front of the hangar. Lynn stayed near them but didn’t touch or say anything.

  “How long ago did you see Vivra?” Pax asked, wanting to remain hopeful that she was still alive, but also knowing there was a chance she was not.

  Yon pointed the gun at the closest side door. “We need to go out here.”

  Uh…

  Yon let his body weight direct the path, and Pax went with it. Out the door, he saw a motorized vehicle and realized what Yon was doing. Then, Yon withdrew his arm and held the doorframe.

  Pax saw the red hangar, and a small, worn, dirt path created by the vehicle driving to and fro.

  “What are you doing? Where are you going?” Ah, Shady. Pax could always count on her to ruin the moment. Pax turned around and watched as Shady gave Lynn a level stare. “Why aren’t you helping him to the ship?”

  “I…” Lynn started.

  Pax started the conveyance with a silver key that was already in the ignition. He had not driven something like this since he was a child. He didn’t look over when the seat next to him was filled, but he did hear the female voice next to him say, “I don’t care. Just get him to the ship. He’s our XO, or did you forget that?”

  Pax shook his head and pulled out. Shady….

  She stayed quiet and kept her hand on the side of the vehicle as they sped forward and down the road. Seconds felt like minutes as he drove. At the red hanger, they stopped and jumped out. Pax heard a female screaming. He didn’t wait for Shady, he ran, following the sound and moving across the dusty floor. Every step caused a small puff of floating debris to rise in his wake.

  The door was open, and he slid in, searching for the sound. He saw both purple and black blood all over towards the back of the room. A single glowing female was on her knees next to the masses of blood. Her back was to him. Every step he saw more he didn’t like. Purple blood was Red Demon blood. And the black – Bolark. His mind already guessing what happened, but his heart was stuttering, refusing to accept the evidence.

  Then he stopped to see half a purple skull with its skin peeled off.

  The glowing woman was sitting in the black Bolark blood, holding the head of the body. The clothes bloody, but familiar. The non-federation wedges were Vivra's.

  Pax’s heart dropped. The distress was clear in the damage. The blood was proof of the savagery.

  Pax let his knees hit the floor. Vivra…her face…

  Pax couldn’t breathe.

  Not again.

  Not another female death on his hands.

  Not her.

  Please, Seth. Not her.

  The knot in his heart, in his throat, began to grow. He reached out, touched the Bolark’s wrist. No pulse. He didn’t expect one.

  He saw but didn’t register that Shady was next to him. She was touching him, removing his hand from the light green wrist.

  “Clear,” Shady said once. Then twice.

  He turned, wondering why the cyborg was trying to get him away from her. “Don’t tell me what to do.” He said the words in a tone that vowed vengeance.

  Shady’s eyes looked squarely at him. No fear. “Clear,” she said again and reached over to Vivra’s chest. He watched Shady’s eyes blink white for a second.

  Then, Shady did it again. She was using some electrical pulse in her cybernetic fingertips to try and jumpstart Vivra’s heart.

  On the fifth try, Shady looked away from him. He touched Vivra’s wrist again. He held onto the cold skin and watched as the cyborg’s arm transformed, shifted. The piston and bars moved like a well-crafted cog until there was a hole where the bicep should have been.

  Reaching into the newly shifted hole, Shady pulled out a small, white rectangular device the width and size of Pax’s thumb.

  A medscope.

  Shady placed it gently against Vivra’s neck, and Pax finally registered the bump against his fingertips as a pulse.

  Chapter Twenty

  Surge Capacity

  Shady drove the vehicle, the glowing female rode next to her, and Pax was in the back holding Vivra. They made it all the way back to the galleon 107.

  Once they stopped, Shady cleared her throat before saying, “I’ll stay here and watch over the mine workers until another ship can come and pick them up.”

  Shady…being Shady. Taking charge and making no excuses for it. Damnit if he wasn’t grateful for the deliberate, pushy, and sometimes annoying yet bright cyborg.

  “Do I have to stay?” a small voice asked from the passenger seat. The glowey female.

  No hesitation. “Come on. You’ll fill me in on what happened.”

  Pax noticed for the first time that the small female had black eyes, her sclera, cornea, and pupils were entirely black. An Allus.

  Pax carried Vivra up the ramp and into the heart of the ship to medical. The small room was filled past capacity. On a galleon it didn’t hold as many medical beds and scanners like the medical bay on Garna.

  He saw his men, two Yunkins, the ones that worked with Hors, taking direction from Ansel, who was
on the Minky screen.

  Ansel’s face changed when he saw Pax. “Remind me never to let you go on a mission without me.”

  The doc saw Vivra in his arms and pointed to a long counter. “Put her in a medscanner bed. Shady already sent me a message about having to shock Vivra alive. Keep her still during the flight.”

  Of course, Shady had contacted the ship and taken the responsibility upon herself.

  The second medical bed in the bay was filled with Yon, awake and not letting anyone tend to him.

  The ship shook slightly as they took off, it got worse when it exited the atmosphere.

  “Pax,” Yon called from the bed.

  Pax turned, giving the male a chance to speak. Then Yon pointed at Pax’s feet. Lowering his gaze, he saw the Allus with her back against the medical cabinet that Vivra was lying on top of. Her arms were wrapped around her thighs, and her head was firmly between her knees.

  “Hey.” Pax touched his boot to her bare feet…gently.

  She turned her head so her ear was facing up and her face was to the side. “Yeah?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not hurt.”

  Pax looked back at Yon and saw the male’s irritated expression. Pax shrugged. What did Yon expect him to do? There was no more room in the medical bay, and the place was already full of other glowing people that had been tended to.

  Yon’s nostril’s flared, and he looked down again, shaking his head.

  Oh, for the love of stars. Pax mouthed, “She’s. Fine.”

  Yon looked around and snapped his fingers at one of Pax’s Graches wrapping gauze around a wounded miner. “Chair,” was all Yon said, and the male quickly gave it up. At Yon’s direction, he moved it beside Pax.

  When the Allus saw it, she quickly scooted over, leaving room for the chair before putting her face back between her knees.

  “The chair’s for you.”

  She shook her head, pulling her legs closer together and making herself appear even smaller.

  “Get off the floor, Yelena, or I will move you myself,” Yon spoke in a dark, commanding tone.

  Yelena’s head popped up, and their eyes locked again. “I’m fine. Thank you,” she said softly. So softly, Pax barely heard it. He doubted Yon heard it at all.

  Yon started taking off the clips and strips connecting him to a blood bag.

  Yelena quickly moved to the seat, grabbing both arms of the chair.

  The Yunkin stopped what he was doing and sat back, his shoulders losing their tension, and his eyes watching hers as she watched him back. Or at least Pax assumed she was viewing Yon, it was hard to tell which way she was looking.

  ***

  The galleon landed in the docking bay on Garna. Pax was the first out with Vivra in his arms. Yon, was limping slowly beside him. Rannn and Ansel rushed towards them. Sasha, Sands, Oz, and several others Pax didn’t know rushed past them, most likely to help the other wounded to medical.

  Pax carried Vivra across the docking station and into the elevator where Rannn held Yon up with one arm, and Ansel carried the blood bag at his side.

  All five rushed into the medical bay, into the private rooms at the back, and Ansel was the last through, shutting the door behind him. There were two beds, and one that was already set up for donating blood. Rannn set Yon down, and Ansel cut off his shirt and started running a medical scanner over the Yunkin’s chest.

  “Just as I thought, the skin healed over the bullets.” Ansel pointed at the head of the bed. “Lean back, I’m going to have to cut them out.”

  Pax wasn’t sure he understood. He was looking at Yon’s unblemished skin. No wounds, nothing but his normal battle scars.

  “How are you already healed?” Pax asked.

  Rannn looked at Yon, and at that moment, Pax realized that he’d been left out of something big. Ansel was the one who answered, “I implanted a medscope in his chest cavity. Because of the extensive damage from the scathy barbist, he needs it permanently. The part of his system that tells it where to send extra blood and healing when he’s injured is no longer active. So, I put a medscope in his chest that can do that for him…I didn’t know it would do all this, though.”

  Pax wasn’t even bothered that he’d been left out of that little medical decision. He was irritated because… “I want one of those.”

  Rannn rolled his eyes.

  Pax was serious. He was going to get one, but he couldn’t get one now while Ansel was cutting bullets out of Yon’s chest, arms, and legs, and Vivra was still unconscious.

  Pax held Vivra’s head in his lap as he watched Ansel do his job. Two hours later, the medical officer had finished pulling out all the bullets, patching Yon up, and installing a new medscope in his chest.

  Then the Numan swiveled his rolling chair a half-turn and looked down at Vivra. He stared for several minutes. “I’m going to have to reconstruct her bones and skin. It will take time for her to heal.” Ansel finally looked at him. “She’ll be okay, though.”

  Pax knew she would.

  “When do we get started?”

  Rannn was the one who answered. “Once you leave. You have an active rescue mission in progress.”

  Rannn didn’t know Shady. Honestly, Pax didn’t know her all that well either, but without a doubt, he knew she was handling it. “I’m staying.”

  “Pax.” Rannn’s eyebrows furrowed.

  “I’m. Staying.”

  “Is there something you want to tell me about Vivra? Are you two in a relationship?”

  Were they? No, not technically. But after this, he was never letting her out of his sight. Even if she didn’t like it, he would be a permanent fixture in her life.

  “Demon’s don’t claim mates,” Ansel said, looking curious.

  “Those with bahity do,” Yon said with an arrogant smirk.

  The Yunkin was right. Most people assumed that bahity was a Demon disease. It wasn’t. Instead, it was a label they gave to those who claimed a mate or life partner. That Demon has bahity. He had heard it before when he was young.

  “Bahity the Demon disease?” Rannn looked at him oddly.

  “There is no such thing,” Yon said then smiled. “Bahity means he can bond. It’s rare, but some Demons experience it. Pax, apparently, is one.”

  Rannn nodded. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

  It did.

  “Okay, then,” Ansel said as he stood. “I’m going to get my tools.” When he opened the door, Clalls was there, standing still and looking in until he saw Vivra.

  The Night Demon’s chest rose, and his jaw clenched.

  “She’s going to be fine,” Pax said, seeing Clalls’ wrath building behind his eyes. “The bastard who did this is dead.”

  “You made him suffer?” Clalls asked, not taking his eyes off the Bolark.

  Pax hadn’t, but he didn’t need to share that. “He was shot with a pixy pistol. His face was skinned, and the other half was blown off.”

  Pax heard Yon and Rannn exhale heavily. Clalls swallowed. “Good.” Then he took a few more breaths. “Captain, I’ve taken inventory on all the active mines. Aside from Cenlura there are six thousand five hundred and fifteen slave miners. Too many to hold on the ship. Do you want me to call in more relief ships?”

  “No. We can put the rest on the Merimore and tug it behind us. Actually, I need to have a long talk with my cousin.” Rannn said the last part as he walked and gestured for Clalls to follow him.

  The room was silent with only Yon, Vivra, and Pax remaining in the private medical room. Yon’s voice cut through the silence. “The Terrans said they had thousands of buyers lined up and some were going to Lotus Nexis.”

  Seth of Stars, not Nexis again. Pax let his head fall back against the wall and rubbed his forehead. “I hate that planet.”

  “I would have thought you would have a season pass.”

  Pax moved one hand and pointed at Yon. “Stop trying to be fun
ny. You suck at it.”

  Yon grunted. “Vivra thinks I’m funny.” A very non-Yon thing to say. Yon wasn’t playful.

  Pax blinked. Yon looked at him smugly. “Look at you…trying to come into your Demon side.”

  Yon chuffed. “The fact that I’m half-demon is the reason they didn’t sell me to the new Madame on Nexis as the novelty Yunkin.”

  “They were going to sell you as a sex slave on Nexis?” Pax didn’t think much surprised him anymore, but a brothel of Yunkin men didn’t sound like a very good business plan. As a Red Demon, he felt he was a good judge of character, the kind that would do well in the bedroom, at least, and Yunkins seemed to lack those qualities. But that was Pax’s opinion. Maybe some females wanted to dabble on the simpler side of sex.

  A single-orgasm blitz kind of romance.

  “Smart. The Madame could dress you up as an admiral or captain and give the purchasers a chance to live out their fantasies of being with someone in a high rank. I can see it.”

  “There is something wrong with you, and it’s not because you’re a Demon,” Yon said as if he were surprised by his own realization.

  Pax responded, “I thought the same thing about you.”

  Yon chuckled.

  Ansel pushed open the door. “All right, let’s get started.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  What Happened?

  Pax had never doubted Ansel’s ability or skill. But after fourteen hours of straight reconstructive surgery with synthetic skin and bone manipulator, he was in awe. Vivra’s beautiful face was back, and the last parts to be healed would do so while she slept off the drug concoction that Ansel dripped into her IV.

  Yon had healed and left hours ago.

  Ansel said Vivra would be fine when she woke up, but the effects of the medicine would keep her asleep for a few hours. He had no problem staying.

  Shady knocked on the door before opening. She peered in at Vivra. “She looks good.”

  Vivra would never notice or feel the synthetic bones in her face. Nor would she know what she’d looked like before the surgery. Pax doubted she would forget it happening, but he had experience with nightmares, he would be there for her.