Demon Retribution (37 page)

The Sanctuary provided a measure of solace.
It looked jungle-esque, full of a variety of plants, flourishing
under the artificial light. A faux river twisted through a grassy
plain. This room was no doubt the jewel of the ship, providing the
crew with peace and life among their metallic world and the
never-ending black space.

While her sisters practiced their respective
gifts among the forest-like backdrop, Kyra burrowed her back into
the soft grass, arms folded behind her head, gazing up at nothing.
This place didn’t smell quite like home—either of them—but the
pungent scent was pleasant anyway.

As Anya played with moving currents of air,
Nadua sat in a meditative state. Kyra supposed she was seeing hints
of the future, or perhaps the history of those on the ship. Nadua
was still learning to master it, but her control grew by leaps and
bounds with the help of Anya’s insightful instruction.

Kyra paid close attention to her little
sister’s advice. Though she was young in many ways, she was proving
wise beyond her years in others. Of all of them, Kyra would boast
that Anya’s gift was the most powerful. Certainly the most
useful.

A bit of shame crept through Kyra. Her magic
was still raw, nearly unmanageable. She’d been making some progress
back on Earth, if only a fraction. But now, for fear she would
destroy the ship and everyone aboard, she could not join her
sisters in training.

Her view of the ceiling was suddenly blocked
by Anya’s beaming smile and the curtain of her golden locks. She
should have known Anya would sense her melancholy.

“Hi,” Anya chirped, settling back on her
knees. “What’s wrong?”

Kyra sighed and sat up. “I’m just worried
that I won’t be much help when the time comes.”

Nadua joined the conversation. “I worry
about that as well. I can’t exactly pull visions out of thin air.
They come when they come.” She shrugged.

“At least you don’t involuntarily explode
and then subsequently pass out,” Kyra countered

“Yes, at least that doesn’t happen,” she
gave a half-hearted laugh, followed by a sorrowful expression. Kyra
returned a thin smile and shrugged.

They relaxed into a small circle, and Anya
asked, “What does it feel like when you use your gift?”

Kyra thought back. “My body
gets really hot. I think my skin even begins to glow. Then I get
the feeling something is trying to break out of me, like a wild
animal or something. At first I try to keep it in, because I know
what will happen if…when it gets out. But then…then it creeps into
my head. Takes over. And I begin to
want
to let it go because…” she
paused. “Because I crave the destruction that I know is
coming.”

Kyra expected them to look at her like she
was crazy. In so many words, she’d just admitted a belief that her
magic had a mind of its own.

Instead, Nadua confessed, “It feels similar
when I have a vision. You know, without the destruction and dark
thoughts. I lose myself, and it’s like I’m propelled into another
time. A place that I can neither affect nor leave at will. I get
sort of stuck.”

“I’ve had experiences like yours, as well,”
Anya said. “When Ethan held us captive on his base, before we knew
who he was,” she added with emphasis, “I unleashed my gift to free
Sebastian and the others, and for a moment I was not myself.
Something terrible overcame me. I can’t even explain what it
was.”

The shiver that followed her words was
telling. Anya had been frightened by whatever she’d endured, just
as Kyra was frightened of herself.

“It will all work out,” Anya encouraged,
once again sensing her dismay. “Father believes in us, does he not?
And he must know that we will be triumphant.”

Kyra and Nadua shared a
look. They knew better than she that their father’s visions were
not always accurate. There
was
a chance that they were merely racing to their
doom.

The thought was disconcerting. Her mind
drifted to Cale, and she suppressed another sigh. What if they were
just careening towards their inevitable demise, and she only had a
limited amount of time with him—the clock ticking down?

Were they wasting time with this animosity?
So he believed she bewitched him with magic. She knew better. She’d
just been hoping he’d figure it out himself and come to her
for…what? Forgiveness? Hell, at this point she’d take a breathy,
“I’m going to take you now.” But that didn’t seem to be happening,
and their separation felt…wrong.

The few times he’d approached her, he’d been
ill-mannered and terse, and, of course, she’d been the same. He had
a talent for making her hackles rise. Yet, at night she wished for
his arms around her, almost to a maddening degree.

Nadua and Anya went back to practicing,
leaving her to her thoughts. She leaned back in the grass, running
the heel of her palms over her eyes.

Why hadn’t he come to apologize yet? She
knew the answer: he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

Then, an idea sparked.

It was possible that he’d only acted so
barbarous because that was the way of his people. His actions on
Uli Rings had suggested he did in fact want her, though his
approach left something to be desired. What if he was waiting on
her to come to him and reconcile? Perhaps, just as on Earth, he was
giving her space now.

She cursed herself, realizing she was merely
making excuses, and it was only a matter of time before she talked
herself into going to him. How pathetic.

The doors swooshed open and they all turned
their heads to see Tristan enter. “We draw near your home,” he
announced.

“There it is!” Kyra breathed.

They all gathered in the control room to
witness their approach.

Evlon had slowly grown from an insignificant
speck of light, to a small green globe that could fit in her
palm.

They were still so far away, but the tiny
glimmer of the world she’d once known had her heart racing. She
choked back a cry of relief that it was still—at least as far as
she could tell—intact.

Seeing it even managed to take her mind away
from the fact that Cale stood but feet from her. She’d been caught
off guard at seeing him in the control room, and her body had
responded as if they hadn’t been parted for weeks. To her
embarrassment, he’d noticed, and she’d watched his gaze turn
hungry.

Then Tristan followed her in, and Cale grew
cold, a painful reminder that the only reason he desired her now
was for competition’s sake. The fact of the matter remained, he’d
been ready to cast her aside until the dragon had entered the
scene. The realization burned like a hot poker to the heart.

There she stood in the control room,
surrounded by Tristan and her sisters—Cale with his family, and
Ethan—feeling as lonely as her first year on Earth.

Everyone seemed to take position between her
and Cale. Whether it was planned or a coincidence, she couldn’t
decide. But at the moment, she was just grateful for the distance.
If Cale ever wanted to be with her again, she wanted to be sure it
was because he cared for her, and not just because of a jealous
rivalry.

She recalled his horrified expression when
he’d learned of her liaison with Tristan. It was true they’d been
together in their youth, but it was so long ago, it hardly mattered
now. That time had been new and exciting for both of them. Each had
been infatuated with the other, and she would forever cherish the
memories of first love. But whatever she had felt for him then
paled in comparison to what she felt for Cale now. Even if her
feelings were solely one-sided.

Kyra had been surprised to find hope, on
Tristan’s part, of rekindling their former romance, but she made it
clear that wasn’t going happen. To her relief, he hadn’t been too
disappointed. Now he just enjoyed screwing with Cale.

She heard the undertones of a menacing growl
when Tristan placed his hand on her shoulder. After she gave
Tristan a chastising look, he removed it, giving her a roguish
grin.

The tension in the room skyrocketed.

Then Portia entered. “I’ve finished the
spell,” she announced. “We should be as invisible as a black
hole.”

“Good,” Sebastian said. To his crew, he
ordered, “Divert energy to shields. Keep our weapons hot, but do
not fire unless I command.”

Kyra gasped. “We’re not going to attack now,
are we?”

“No, I’m just being cautious. Once we get
through the atmosphere, we’re going to try to land. Ethan has
mapped a location he believes will best suit us.”

“Yes,” Ethan interjected. “The area should
conceal us, as well as bring us close to where the book indicates a
faction of our people might be hiding, somehow out of reach from
the Kayadon. Probably with the use of magic.”

“How long till we get there?” Cale asked,
showing a hint of impatience.

Aidan answered, “Half a day at least. And if
you’re all going to hover in here, I swear to all the gods, I will
ram us into the first enemy ship I see.”

Tristan grumbled in her ear, “I canna
believe he ran Phase Nine, let alone won the thing.” Then louder,
he said, “Come, love, let us find entertainment elsewhere. We can
do nothing to help here.”

She felt the heat of Cale’s glower follow
her out the door. Forcing herself not to steal a glance, she could
imagine his irises the color of lava.

“I wish you wouldn’t antagonize him,” she
said, halfway down the hall.

“Sorry, lass. I canna help myself.”

“Yes, you can. You just don’t want to.”

She’d found Tristan’s personality to be just
as she remembered it, playful and easygoing, but under the surface,
there was strength and maturity. Traits inspired by his father’s
influence, and no doubt, nurtured by his mother.

“How is your mother?” she asked, ashamed
that she’d not thought to before now.

“She is well. No’ much different than you
might recall. She wishes we would all find wives and settle down.
Goads us constantly. It’s a shame she never bore any lasses like
yourself to fuss over.”

“She was quite fond of me, wasn’t she?”

In fact, the boys had been shocked by how
quickly Edel had taken a liking to her. They’d led her to believe
their mother curt and barely cordial to anyone who wasn’t family.
But then, Kyra supposed the queen had been eager for a match, just
like everyone else.

“That she was. I’ve no’ seen her so vexed
than the day you were called home. You know she would love to see
you again.”

“Maybe in the future I can visit her.” If
there was a future for her, that is. “How is your clan’s
relationship with the witches?” Though not as powerful as the
Serakians, the witches on Lagura wielded impressive magic and often
used it against the dragons.

His look said it for him. “No’ well. They
are as devious as ever. Father is in talks with a handful of
covens. They demand presence on our council, but I fear it would be
our downfall.”

Kyra didn’t know what to say. She was
worried about her own people’s downfall.

Many of the crew gathered in the salon where
the wall length window offered the best view. She assumed Cale had
remained in the control room with Sebastian, but she couldn’t be
sure. She and Tristan claimed a free table, and Marik brought her a
tea-like beverage that she sipped while trying to concentrate on
surrounding conversations.

Her sisters seemed to be in the same frame
of mind as she, because they didn’t speak much either. A
rambunctious table of mercenaries offered some entertainment by
regaling stories, but Kyra could hardly feign interest.

The rest of the day passed slowly. The
watched pot theory was true, and Kyra had to command herself to
stop glancing out the window to see if Evlon had grown at all. But
eventually the day did pass, and against the darkness of space her
home suddenly took up much of the view.

As small details bloomed, her heart warmed.
The land became more defined by coastlines. Fractals of light
bounced off winding rivers, broken up by dense patches of forest.
It was beautiful.

Then her heart dropped into her stomach.

Among the stars, a distant ship loomed. They
all seemed to notice it at once, and the room stilled. The large
metal craft sat motionless, like a spider waiting for prey.

She held her breath as they began to drift
closer. Anxiety crawled up her spine. But the Serakian’s spell must
have been working. The foreign ship made no move toward them.

A part of her wanted to rush back to the
control room for assurance, but she would only be a nuisance.
Besides, if they were about to be blown to smithereens, she’d
rather be the last to know.

Evlon continued to expand toward them. A
mass of land turned into a large expanse of treetops. The sky
shifted from black to a vibrant blue. As they sank through a hazy
layer of clouds, light droplets of water began to build against the
window.

She wasn’t expecting to see a familiar
structure, but the haze cleared and beyond a stretch of land,
nestled at the base of a far off hill, her childhood home
appeared.

“What is that?” Anya asked, sounding in
awe.

“The palace,” Kyra replied mournfully.

The white marbled walls looked stark against
the flourishing green hills that rose up around it. Was their
father still there?

They were too far away to determine if life
went on behind the windows, or in the small city that surrounded
it. Still, she strained her eyes hoping to catch a hint of movement
before they ducked under the thick canopy.

As they descended, the light became obscured
by thick trunks and a plethora of giant leaves that fanned out in
all directions. With her heart pumping adrenaline into her veins,
she watched as the trunks whizzed by, the movement slowing by small
increments till the ship came to a crawl.