Demon Slave (18 page)

After righting their clothes, Marik sat up
and pulled her back against his chest, as they had been. Only he
couldn’t keep from burying his face in the soft red tendrils of her
hair, inhaling her sweet scent. To his dismay, he went instantly
hard again.

Pausing thoughtfully for only a second after
he entered, Rex laid the wood in the pile and then crossed to his
pallet. Evidently, their traps had yet to catch anything.

Nadua awoke resting against Marik. It was
becoming so natural to wake in his arms. Going back to a solitary
bed would be difficult.

The nearly constant howling that had poured
from various cracks over the last few days had stopped.
Silence.

The storm was over.

“
Good morning,” Marik’s
deep voice rumbled.

Nadua rubbed the sleep from her eyes,
allowing them to get used to the glorious sunlight seeping past the
pelt wall. She wanted to run out and soak it up, but just because
the sun was out didn’t mean it would be warm.

Looking around, Nadua realized Rex was
gone.

As if reading her thoughts, Marik said, “I
sent him out to hunt.” His green eyes were glinting with dark
thoughts, but then suddenly his lips thinned in disappointment.

Footsteps sounded just before Rex entered,
harboring a big smile. In his arms were a couple of neatly skinned
carcasses and a bundle of long sticks.

“
I told you the traps would
work.” He beamed.

“
Oh, thank goodness, I’m
starving.” Nadua sat up.

It must have been Rex who had kept the fire
going all night because she didn’t recall Marik leaving her side
for an instant. Although, she’d been blissfully exhausted and
probably wouldn’t have noticed if he had, anyway.

Working together, they crafted a spit from
the sticks. Soon after, the smell of cooked meat teased Nadua’s
rumbling tummy.

When the meal was over, Nadua barely
remembered tasting it. Marik had even offered her some of his
portion, but she refused, reassuring him several times that she was
quite full.

They were all eager to finally leave their
little cavern and get moving to the cave system Rex spoke of, where
they would continue traveling south till they reached place she’d
captured Marik.

Spurring Nadua’s excitement, Rex claimed
there was a naturally warm spring where they were headed. Once they
began their trek, the other two had to practically force Nadua to
pause and take a break.

They’d been making good ground, when Marik
stopped for the third time.

“
I don’t need a break,” she
lied. She’d been pushing through snow that often came above her
waist. Not to mention she kept tripping over random obstacles like
stumps and rocks, hidden under the snow.

I miss my
edisdon
.

“
Well, then,
I
need a break,” Marik
said, seeing through her.

Rolling her eyes, she slumped down on what
she assumed was a rock covered in snow. A squeak burst from her as
a sudden wave of white enveloped her.

Nope, not a rock.

She pulled herself out of the snow and
ignored the demons’ snorts of laughter as she dusted herself
off.

Through his amusement, Rex said, “The
entrance to the cave isn’t much farther. We’ll need to start
climbing from here, but then we still have a ways to travel once
inside.”

Nadua surveyed the mountainside. It looked
steep. She supposed a little rest would be alright, although
Marik’s continued snickers wouldn’t do.

She spied a branch above him, full of icy
flakes. She sauntered past him, and then, without warning, kicked
its base. The pack of snow tumbled down, making contact with
Marik’s head and sprinkling over his shoulders.

She laughed out loud at his astonished
expression, but quickly reigned it in when his features morphed
into something menacing.

“
Wait a second.” She put
her hands up as he inched toward her.

Darting behind a thick trunk, she managed to
keep him at bay for a moment. Then his speed caught her by surprise
and once again she was covered by snow. Marik heartily laughed
alongside her.

Pulling herself up, Nadua noticed Rex was a
little too dry. Stealthily, she began packing snow into a ball.
Marik registered her intent and followed her lead. Far too late,
Rex realized what was happening and he was already being pelted by
both of them. Soon sides became blurred and they were all out for
themselves, throwing snowballs at whatever moved.

The fun ended when both demons snapped to
attention. Their gazes turned toward the forest.

“
What is it?” Nadua
huffed.

“
I heard something,” Marik
answered.

Rex waved them toward the mountain. “It
could be nothing, but we should move on.”

Moments later, Rex was leading the climb. It
was as steep as it had looked and Nadua had to utilize both her
arms and legs to help her along.

Marik was at her back and at times it was as
if she could feel his eyes on her. She told herself she was just
imagining it. When she braved a look, she saw he was transfixed by
her backside, as she was bent in an almost inviting position. She
jerked her body straight, nearly slipping on an icy rock. Marik
latched an arm around her waist, easily righting her, a guilty grin
in place.

He held her for a moment longer than was
needed and they started their ascent again, only now her body was
throbbing with awareness. Her heart rate spiked and a flood of heat
washed over her, even as the chill in the air grew worse. Another
storm was on the heel of the last.

As if the gods flipped a switch, puffs of
white drifted down around them, adding to the fresh layers of
already fallen snow. Luckily, they reached the cave before it grew
any worse.

Inside was similar to the last cave, except
there were a couple of shafts that faded into darkness.

Right away, Rex produced a lantern he kept
stored behind a rock—most likely stolen. He said he left them,
whenever possible, in the caves he used most.

They all took a moment to dust away any
clinging flakes before Rex directed her and Marik to the passage on
the left.

Like any cave, the walls were jagged and the
ground was hard with stones. As they continued on, a musty smell
became increasingly stronger.

Again, Marik stayed behind her, aiding her
through the tight spots. Shockingly, the farther they traveled into
the cave, the more humid it became. Narrow walls became juicy with
muck, and the ground was no longer frozen solid. It actually
squished under her boots.

The air was heavy in her lungs, and so thick
it felt as if she were pushing her way through it.

A small amount of sweat dripped down her
back. The cave held a natural heat that felt completely foreign
after so many years in her frigid surroundings. And for the first
time in four hundred years, her furs were causing her to become
overheated. She paused for a moment to remove them, leaving her in
her thin sleeveless shirt and long pants.

Marik motioned to the bundle in her arms.
“Would you like me to carry those for you?”

“
I’ve got it, thanks.” She
folded the pieces under her arm and proceeded to follow Rex through
a small opening. Briefly, she had to crawl on her hands and
knees—hobbling forward as she held her furs in one arm—then the
shaft morphed into a generously wide and equally tall
tunnel.

Rex waited for them a few feet ahead. The
dim light of his lantern offered a measure of visibility, then
tapered into darkness.

The tunnel opening had been spacious for
her, but Marik had to wiggle and push his big shoulders through.
Nadua glanced at Rex, noticing how much smaller his frame was
compared to Marik’s, though he was nearly as tall. The result of
living off this desolate land, she supposed.

A smoky haze suddenly fell over her and she
went tense. The gray puffs parted in her mind as if moved by a
delicate wind. Sighing, she relaxed and let the vision come.

A rift in the floor. A thunderous echo. The
walls shook.

Still in mid-vision, Nadua whirled around.
“Marik!”

He looked up at her just as his feet hit the
floor. Then she heard it. The sound was terrible. Louder than in
her vision, like a viscous lightning storm from below.

The ground began to fall away. She tried to
scramble back but her feet slipped on the unsteady terrain. A plume
of fine dust obstructed her sight and she blindly reached out as
she felt herself sinking.

Catching hold of what must be a newly
created ledge, Nadua clung to a wall of stone and dirt. Her feet
thrashed for solid ground. There was none. She was on an overhang
that could break off any second. Her fingers dug painfully into the
rock to keep herself up.

“
Marik!” she called again,
fearing he had fallen to his death. With the dust in the air, she
couldn’t see anything but floating specs lit by the amber light of
the lantern above.

“
Shh,” came Rex’s soft
voice. “Any extra vibration could make it worse.”

As if to prove his point, the cavern rumbled
ominously. Bits of gravel cascaded all around her, and the sound of
clattering rocks finding the end of their journey rose up from the
pit.

“
Nadua, hold on,” Marik
whispered.

Oh, thank the gods!

“
Where are you?” She kept
her voice as low and as steady as her raging heart would
allow.

“
I’m on the other side. I
could jump, but you need to climb up first or I’ll risk causing you
to fall.”

Another tumbling of rocks echoed from below.
Her cheek was pressed against the ledge, and her heavy breath
disturbed the powdery soil. Some of the fine dust coated her lungs,
but she suppressed the need to cough.

“
I can’t.” Her arms were
already beginning to shake from holding her weight, and it felt
like the rocks were about to slip.

“
Rex?” The hint of panic in
Marik’s voice made Nadua’s heart thump painfully faster.

“
I think I can reach her,”
Rex whispered back. “Nadua, I’m going to climb down.”

His movements caused a river of lose soil to
descend on her. She finally coughed as she was forced to breath in
more dust.

A moment later, a strong hand wrapped around
her wrist. She mimicked the hold. Quicker than she expected, her
body was yanked up to a flat surface. They both scrambled to a more
stable location. Nadua turned to see Marik in mid leap, his body
slicing through the cloud of particles.

Landing with a heavy thud, he rushed forward
to collect her in his arms, right as the ledge collapsed behind
him. Relief swept over her and she held on to him just as tightly
as she had the rock face.

“
Thank you,” he said to
Rex, who must have only nodded in return.

“
I’ve walked this path over
a thousand times,” Rex murmured. “I thought it would be the safest
route.” He seemed to be talking to himself more than to either of
them.

Marik put Nadua at arm’s length, looking her
over. He studied her palms, which were scratched and bleeding from
the sharp rocks. “You’ve lost your furs.”

“
Damn it.” Nadua looked
back to the sink hole. If the cave grew cold again, she would be
screwed.

Marik guided her away. “We’ll think of
something.”

“
The rest of our supplies
are gone too,” Rex reluctantly added. “I had set them down over
there.” He pointed to the gaping hole.

When the shock subsided and they finally
began moving again, Nadua couldn’t seem to let go of Marik. She
didn’t realize till later that, in her vision, she had watched him
fall.

* * *

Being captain of the
Marada
at a time like
this was like being a glorified babysitter. There were no merchant
deals to be made, no negotiations for contracts. All they were
doing was floating in space, waiting to hear from Sebastian. Other
than that, to stave off boredom, Sonya wandered the ship and made
sure all was well with the crew.

With the ship idle, she often caught the
engineers sitting around, offering tales of past conquests, in
anatomical detail. Most everyone had nothing else to do, besides
visit the salon or entertainment rooms.

Sonya had just finished the rounds and was
hoping to sit back and have a drink at The Demon’s Punchbowl. After
a long warm shower to relax her muscles, she dressed in her regular
clothes: short black skirt, black corset with glossy red string
woven down the front, and stockings that crawled up to her thighs.
Her heels were tall, which she loved because she was shorter than
most other female demons. Not that there were any on the ship to
compare herself to.