Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest Book 3) (38 page)

She glanced at her sisters, whose
expressions mirrored hers, a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
What would they find when they stepped foot outside? Would all be
as they remembered? Would they find their people surviving? Or
would they discover their home and its people beaten into
submission, a shadow of what was?

Finally, the ship settled. Her pulse jumped
into hyper drive, and she had to take a deep breath in an attempt
to stave off a bout of dizziness.

She found herself wishing Cale were here.
His strength and confidence would no doubt rejuvenate hers.

Outside the window, there were signs of a
breeze gently caressing the large foliage, but inside the salon,
her breath was the only sound she heard.

Anya propelled out of her seat, “Let’s go!
Let’s go,” she shouted with unrestrained glee.

“Wait. We don’t know if it’s safe yet,” Kyra
warned.

“Can’t you feel it? It’s so lovely.” Her
smile was exuberant.

Kyra did feel something. Under her nerves
was a deep sense of belonging. It flowed through her, coating her
every cell, down to her marrow.

Cale pushed his way past the waiting crowd.
The hatch to this foreign land was about to open, and he was
desperate to find Kyra. Aidan had scanned for danger and gave the
all clear, but that didn’t mean shit to him.

Neither did the fact that they’d slipped
past Kayadon ships, posted just beyond the outer atmosphere, with
the ease of a child. He still didn’t know if the cloaking spell
would work outside the ship, and the witch had disappeared before
he could inquire.

Once more, he scanned the myriad of faces,
still not seeing Kyra. If she was here, her scent was being masked
by the smells from the tightly packed crew members.

Just when he was about to bellow her name,
he caught a glimpse of Anya. She was talking to someone. He
couldn’t see to whom. Muscling his way forward, he spotted the back
of Kyra’s long coppery locks.

Anya noticed him first, then Nadua, who was
standing next to—he growled—Tristan. At least she was putting space
between the dragon and Kyra. Marik was there as well, which
alleviated a bit more of his anxiety.

“Where is Sebastian?” Anya asked.

“Right behind me.”

Kyra stiffened at his voice, but she didn’t
turn to look at him. He didn’t give a damn if she wished him away.
Nothing would make him leave her side now. Not until he was
absolutely sure of her safety. And since this world was unknown to
him, it would take a great deal of convincing.

Luckily, she didn’t make a fuss. Tristan,
however, gave him a mocking grin. Cale bared his fangs in
return.

See, Kyra, we can be
cordial
.

Just so long as the dragon didn’t touch her,
the dragon got to live.

Finally, she glanced at him. A fleeting look
at first, but, as if she couldn’t help it, her expressive eyes fell
on him a second time, lingering. He met her gaze head-on, longing
to see that familiar warmth in their depths. To tell her what a
fool he’d been.

Before he could, she opened her mouth to
speak. Then, as though thinking better of it, she paused for a
moment and tried again, choosing her words carefully.

He realized he was holding his breath,
anticipating what she might say. Even if she were only to yell at
him, it would be better than the nothingness he’d been hard-pressed
to endure.

A single syllable was all he got when
Sebastian appeared, cutting her off.

“Open the hatch,” he ordered, claiming Anya
by the hand.

Hissing sounds erupted around them as the
hatch jerked free and a rush of air pushed inside. Fresh air that
smelled of rich soil and life and something else he couldn’t
describe. Cale blocked his eyes from the sudden brightness.

The door slowly opened, revealing inch by
inch a land Kyra barely remembered, but could never forget. Her
happiness nearly brought her to her knees as she sucked in a lung
full of the vaguely familiar air, infused with a faint
sweetness.

When the ramp unfolded, she took a tentative
step forward, but a hand gripped her by the arm, holding her
back.

“Let a team go first and make sure it’s
safe,” Cale muttered softly.

He’d pulled her close, and she could feel
the heat of his chest seep into her back. Hearing his voice made
her want to lean into him, but she resisted the urge. She was still
angry with him, wasn’t she?

Yet, before, his expression had held a
hidden emotion, just behind his tough, indifferent mask, and she’d
almost admitted to him that she missed him.

Sebastian sent a group out to investigate
the area, armed with both lethal and non-lethal weaponry. They
weren’t gone long before they returned…with Portia in tow.

“I popped ahead to work a number of
concealment spells. We should be practically invisible up to three
hundred paces out, no farther. Actually, to be safe, make that two
hundred.”

“Uh, very good, Portia,” Sebastian said.
“Thanks.”

After getting a nod that the area was safe,
Kyra made a second attempt to exit the ship. Again, Cale held her
fast. “You’re not going out there without me,” he warned.

“Then let’s go,” she replied
impatiently.

His eyes widened with surprise, but then he
nodded and released her.

Five steps was all it took. Five steps, and
her world changed once again. Her feet sank into the soft green
turf. The breeze lifted tendrils of her hair, surrounding her in a
warm embrace. Anya came to her right, their hands threaded
together. Nadua mirrored her action on the left, giving her palm a
squeeze. In that moment they were connected by the same
thought.

We are
home
.

Cale kept a close eye on
Kyra as he scoped out the area. He dare not stray too far. Just
feet from the ship, she’d climbed up onto a high arching root that
was as wide as two of
Marada’s
shuttles combined and three times as tall. As she
leaned on the base of the trunk, she looked no bigger than an
insect in comparison.

However, much more beautiful.

She wore a pair of shorts that cupped her
ass like a damn second skin. He couldn’t help become aroused at the
thought of gripping her with the same closeness. She must know that
from his angle he was finding it impossible to divert his gaze.

She peeked down at him as if reading his
thoughts, and he pretended to examine a flower bud as large as his
head until she looked away.

Kyra had demanded Zoey remain on board the
ship, but Zoey stubbornly refused. They’d argued for a while, but
in the end, she had made the earthling promise to stay by Cale. His
chest had puffed up a little by the fact that Kyra chose him over
the dragon, though Tristan remained nearby as well.

Nadua planted herself in a patch of sun with
her face tilted toward the rays. Sebastian took Sonya, Ethan, and
Anya to check the area. Everyone else meandered around, exploring
this strange new land. Cale couldn’t help comparing it to what he
remembered of his home world. There were a few forests on his
planet, but nothing like this. Most of the land had been wide
plains with few hills and valleys scattered throughout.

This land was ripe with oversized
vegetation, some of the leaves the size of a man. A blanket of
green high above them obscured most of the sunlight. The rasping
and chirping of creatures that continued to remain elusive made him
uneasy.

His “banishment” seemed to be temporarily
lifted because just after they’d left the ship, Kyra had started
identifying noises for him. Or maybe that was only because she was
so overcome with excitement.

“Hear that?” she called when loud clacking
began to echo from above. “It’s a group of serbu. They live at the
very tippy tops of the trees, and when they sense predators they
all bang on the branches in warning.”

“Predators?” Cale seized on the word.

She looked down at him, amused. “It’s
probably us. They can sense our vibrations. They’re the cutest
little things, with large furry ears and long tails.”

“And if it’s not us?” he questioned, ready
to climb up there and drag her back to the safety of the ship.

She took a seat on the root, swinging her
legs, unconcerned. “Don’t worry, Cale, I’d protect you.”

“Would you now?” he said precariously, once
again taken aback by her lighthearted mood. She was so happy. His
heart soared to see her smile.

He realized then that he would do anything
to keep her that way. He would single-handedly destroy all the
Kayadon if he needed to. Not because he craved vengeance, but
because it would be the greatest gift he could give her.

The next two days were dedicated to securing
and exploring the area, and Cale running after Kyra as she
reacquainted herself with Evlon. The girl was insatiable, climbing
and hiking and racing all around. He nearly passed out from stress
when she ascended to the top of a tree, curious if she could catch
a glimpse of the palace.

From behind him, Sonya asked, “Well, what do
we do now?”

Ethan approached with the book. When he
called for Kyra to open it for him, she climbed down and dropped
from a low branch, landing gracefully on her haunches.

“Where did my sisters go?” she asked,
looking around.

“They insisted on going with Sebastian and
Marik to search the area,” Sonya replied. “I doubt they’ll be gone
long.”

Kyra took hold of the book, placed it on the
flat surface of a nearby rock, and pulled it open. Then Ethan
shifted through the pages till he found what he was looking for.
Cale peeked over his shoulder at a map taking up two full
pages.

Ethan pointed to a spot on the lower left.
“We should be here.” His hand moved slightly to the right. “There
should be a group of Faieara here. Not too far away from where we
are now. We just need to find them.”

Sonya sauntered closer. “Then it looks like
we’re going for a walk.”

By the time everyone returned to the ship,
one of the two suns had set. Kyra assured them it would be hours
before the second one followed. This was the time of year when the
nights were short, and the days long.

Kyra, her sisters and their mates, as well
as Cale, Ethan, and Sonya prepared to leave. Kyra had put her foot
down when Zoey wanted to come, and this time she’d won. Thankfully,
Portia promised keep an eye on “the mortal”. Rex and Tristan stayed
behind as well. Sebastian left Aidan in charge of the ship.

Before they set out, Sonya handed Kyra
something that looked like a pistol. “Cale said you’re good with a
gun,” she explained, pointing to a switch. “This has two settings.
Flip it this way and it will send a pulse that should knock anyone
unconscious. Flip it the other way and it will take a head
off.”

Kyra nodded. “Setting phaser to stun,
captain,” she joked. When Sonya only raised an eyebrow, she
grumbled, “Zoey would have laughed at that.”

Soon after, Ethan disappeared into the thick
foliage, followed by the rest of the group. She and Cale took up
the rear.

The landscape was just as she remembered.
The trees stood tall as ever, and the sounds of wildlife went on as
though it would be so till the end of time.

Being here made her realize that she
couldn’t continue to be mad at Cale. He had done so much for her,
fought for her, just to bring her this far. If it weren’t for him,
she would still be on Earth, missing her family, and preparing to
invent a new life for herself. Or worse, captured by the
Kayadon.

She turned to him then, with a silly grin
that she seemed unable to wipe off her face. She noticed each time
she looked his way, his expression became stunned as if he had no
idea why she might be smiling.

“Thank you,” she said genuinely, “for making
this happen.”

He nodded stoically, but she thought she
sensed pride in him. And he should be proud. They all should
be.

She’d heard that, before Anya, Cale and his
family had been living as peaceful merchants. The demons’ lives had
been completely upheaved, without one word of complaint.

But then, they had their own reasons for
wanting to come here, didn’t they? Their eyes lit with bloodlust at
the very mention of the Kayadon. She could understand why. What
happened to their planet was terrible. She hadn’t mentioned it
aloud, but it was one of her greatest fears that Evlon would end up
like theirs.

The path was not an easy one. The terrain
was overrun with thick roots and boulders. Ethan checked the map
several times to verify their course. He seemed to know where they
should be going, and she trusted his judgment.

When they were young, Kyra and her sisters
would venture out of the palace often, but never far enough that
they couldn’t find their way back. Ethan had been a soldier in the
king’s army, and would have been expected to know the land as far
out as the seas by heart.